CIHM 
Microfiche 
Series 
(Monographs) 


ICMH 

Collection  de 
microfiches 
(monographies) 


Canadian  Institute  for  Historical  Microreproductions  /  Institut  Canadian  da  microraproductions  historiques 


'    ms^A 


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'^^mi^mk^'fatfMim.'''^£^aasa£smimKrjm^.-^!SM 


Technical  and  Bibliographic  Notes  /  Notes  techniques  et  bibliographiques 


The  Institute  has  attempted  to  obtain  the  best  original 
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I I   Coloured  maps  /  Cartes  g^ographiques  en  couleur 


0 


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Encre  de  couleur  (i.e.  autre  que  bleue  ou  noire) 


I      I    Coloured  plates  and/or  illustrations  / 


n 

D 
D 


D 


D 


Planches  et/ou  illustrations  en  couleur 

Bound  with  other  material  / 
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Only  edition  available  / 
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interieure. 

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possible,  ces  pages  n'ont  pas  ^t^  film^s. 

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^te  possible  de  se  procurer.  Les  details  de  cet  exem- 
plaire qui  sont  peut-dtre  uniques  du  point  de  vue  bibli- 
ographique,  qui  peuvent  modifier  une  image  reproduite, 
ou  qui  peuvent  exiger  une  modification  dans  la  m^tho- 
de  nonnale  de  filmage  sont  ndiquds  ci-dessous. 

Coloured  pages  /  Pages  de  couleur 

I I   Pages  damaged  /  Pages  endommag6es 


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tissues,  etc.,  have  been  refilmed  to  ensure  the  best 
possible  image  /  Les  pages  totalement  ou 
partiellement  obscurcies  par  un  feuillet  d'erratu,  une 
pelure,  etc.,  ont  et§  film^es  ^  no  'veau  de  fagon  ci 
obtenir  la  meilleure  image  possible. 

Opposing  pages  with  varying  colouration  or 
discolourations  are  filmed  twice  to  ensure  the  best 
possible  image  /  Les  pages  s'opposant  ayant  des 
colorations  variables  ou  des  decolorations  sont 
film^es  deux  fois  afin  d'obtenir  la  meilleure  image 
possible. 


3 

lOx 

14x 

18x 

22x 

26x 

30x 

1 

J 

I 

12x 

16x 

20x 

24x 

28x 

32x 

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The  copy  filmed  h«r«  has  bMn  raprouuctd  thanks 
to  tha  ganarosity  of: 

Staiiffer  Library 
Queen's  University 

Tha  imagas  appaaring  hara  ara  tha  bast  quality 
poasibia  considaring  tha  condition  and  lagibility 
of  tha  original  copy  and  in  kaaping  with  tha 
filming  contract  spacificationa. 


L'axamplaira  film*  fut  raproduit  grica  A  la 
gAnArotit*  da: 

Stauffer  Library 
Queen's  University 

Lat  imagas  suivantas  ont  At*  raproduitas  avac  la 
plus  grand  soin,  compta  tanu  da  la  condition  at 
da  la  nanat*  da  l'axamplaira  film*,  at  an 
conformit*  avac  laa  conditions  du  contrat  da 
filmaga. 


Original  copiaa  in  printad  papar  covars  ara  filmad 
beginning  with  tha  front  covar  and  anding  on 
tha  last  paga  with  a  printad  or  illustratad  impraa- 
sion.  or  tha  back  covar  whan  appropriate.  All 
othar  original  copiaa  ara  filmad  beginning  on  the 
first  paga  with  %  printad  or  illustrated  impres- 
sion, and  anding  on  the  last  paga  with  a  printad 
or  iiluatratad  impression. 


Les  exempiairea  originaux  dont  la  couvartura  en 
papier  est  imprim*e  sont  filmis  en  commancant 
par  la  premier  plat  at  an  tarminant  soit  par  la 
darniAre  page  qui  comporte  une  emprainte 
d'impreasion  ou  d'illustration.  soit  par  la  second 
plat,  salon  le  cas.  Tous  las  autras  exemplaires 
origineux  sont  filmte  en  commenpant  par  la 
pramiAre  page  qui  comporte  une  emprainte 
d'impreasion  ou  d'illustration  at  an  tarminant  par 
la  derni*re  page  qui  comporte  une  telle 
empreinte. 


The  laat  recorded  freme  on  eech  microfiche 
shell  contain  tha  symbol  — ••  (meaning   "CON- 
TINUED ").  or  the  symbol  V  (meaning   "END"). 
whichever  appliea. 

Maps,  plates,  cherts,  etc..  may  be  filmed  at 
different  reduction  ratios.  Those  too  large  to  be 
entirely  included  in  one  expoaure  are  filmed 
beginning  in  the  upper  left  hand  corner,  left  to 
right  and  top  to  bottom,  as  many  framea  as 
required.  The  following  diagrams  illuatrata  the 
method: 


Un  dea  symboles  suivants  appareitra  sur  la 
derni*re  imege  de  cheque  microfiche,  salon  le 
cas:  la  symbols  ^-^  signifie  "A  SUIVRE".  le 
symbols  ▼  signifie  "FIN". 

Les  cartaa.  planches,  tableaux,  etc..  peuvent  etre 
film*s  *  das  taux  de  reduction  diff*rents. 
Loraqua  la  document  est  trop  grand  pour  *tre 
reproduit  en  un  seul  clich*.  il  est  film*  *  partir 
da  Tangle  sup*rieur  gauche,  de  gauche  *  droite. 
et  de  haut  en  baa.  en  prenant  le  nombre 
d'imegea  n*cessaire.  Les  diagrammes  suivants 
iilustrent  la  m*thoda. 


1 

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THE  MECHANISM  OF  SPEECH 


^Jf: 


THE 


MECHANISM  OF  SPEECH 


LECTURES  DELIVERED  BEFORE  THE 
AMERICAN  ASSOCIATION  TO  PROMOTK 
THE  TEACHING  OF  SPEECH  TO  THE 
DEAF,TO  WHICH  IS  APPENDED  A  PAPER 


VOWEL  THEORIES 

mgAD  BBFORK  THB   NATIONAI.  ACADRMY  OF  ARTS   AND  SCIBKCM 


IU,nSTRATKD  WITH  CHARTS  AWD  DIAORAItS 


•V 


ALEXANDER   GRAHAM  BELL 


FUNK  &  WAGNALLS  COMPANY 
NEW  YORK  AND  LONDON 

1907 


J  ^K^ 


COPYRIGHT,  1906,  BY 

ALEXANDER  GRAHAM  BELL 


SECOND  EDITION 


^'i-xl.6^^ 


I. 


CONTENTS. 


Synopsis  xi-xv 

The  Thorax  and  Larynx i_i5 

The  Pharynx  and  Mouth  in  their  relation  to  Speech 17-31 

The  Functions  of  the  Epiglottis  ^wn  Soft  Palate 32-34 

Methods  of  Studying  the  Mechanism  of  Speech 34-50 

Alexander  Melvil'E  Bell's  Speech-Symbols  as  Taught  to  the  Deaf    51-83 

Defective  Consonants  and  how  to  Correct  them 84-99 

Defective  Vowels,  Glides,  and  Diphthongs loo-i  12 

Concluding  Remarks  upon  Articulation  Teaching 113-116 

Appendix  :  Paper  on  "Vowel  Theories" ii7-i2(> 


(Til) 


r?'rsss^?iJi^v*. 


W^'Wmfl^ilBSTBK 


PREFACE  TO  SECOND  EDITION. 


These  lectures  upon  the  Mechanism  of  Speech  were  delivered 
at  the  First  Summer  Meeting  of  the  American  Association  to  Pro- 
mote the  Teaching  of  Si)eech  to  the  Deaf,  hefore  an  audience  com- 
posed largely  of  persons  professionally  engaged  in  the  work  of 
teaching  speech  to  deaf  children. 

In  1906  these  lectures  were  for  the  first  time  collected  in  book 
form  and  reprinted  by  the  Association,  chiefly  for  the  use  of  its 
members,  but  enough  copies  were  struck  off  to  allow  of  the  presenta- 
tion of  the  work  to  the  general  public  in  the  hope  that  it  would  prove 
of  interest  to  a  larger  circle  of  readers.  This  hope  was  realized  and 
there  is  now  a  demand  for  another  edition. 

The  first  edition  was  printed  during  the  author's  absence  in 
Europe,  so  that  he  had  no  opportunity  of  revising  the  proofs ;  and, 
unfortunately,  in  using  the  unfamiliar  type  representing  Melville 
bell's  Speech-Symbols,  the  printers  made  quite  a  number  of  typo- 
graphical mistakes.  In  this  second  edition  advantage  has  been  taken 
of  the  opportunity  to  correct  these  errors. 

When  the  lectures  were  originally  delivered  the  teachers  present 
were  encouraged  to  ask  questions  concerning  difficulties  experienced 
in  imparting  the  power  of  articulate  speech  to  deaf  children.  In 
this  volume  the  questions  and  answers  have  been  appended  to  the 
lectures,  ,.1  the  hope  that  the  replies  may  be  of  assistance  to  other 
teachers  engaged  in  this  diflScult  and  laborious  work. 

A  paper  by  the  author  upon  "Vowel  Theories"  is  also  appended, 
as  the  original  publication  is  difficult  to  find,  and  "the  paper  itself  is 
out  of  print.  This  paper  was  read  before  the  National  Academy  of 
Sciences,  April  15,  1879,  and  appeared  in  the  American  Journal  of 
Otology,  Vol.  I,  July,  1879.  The  experiments  described  were  made 
with  the  phonograph  in  the  form  in  which  it  was  given  to  the  world 
by  Edison — a  grooved  cylinder  covered  with  tinfoil ;  but  still  more 
conclusive  results  are  obtained  with  the  improved  phonographs  and 
graphophones  of  to-day. 

Alexander  Grauam  Bell. 


WASHINGtON,  D.  C, 

May  24,  1907. 


(1«) 


fi 


mm^^^^ 


SYNOPSIS. 


THE  THORAX  AN'D  LARYNX.  Pac 

Action  of  the  diaphragm  during  inspiration  and  expiration i-j 

Forcible   expulsion   of   air   needed    for   speech   effected    by   the 

abdominal  muscles  2_ . 

Chest  expansion  preferable  to  breathing  exercises j-4 

Two  methods  of  varying  the  pitch  of  the  voice 6 

Dr.  Hewson's  suggestion  that  certain  vowels  are  formed  in  the 

Larynx  instead  of  the  mouth 7 

Surgical  case  apparently  favoring  Dr.  Hewson's  suggestion.  Dr. 
Moore's  patient  who  attempted  suicide  by  c.tting  his  throat. 

Results  inconclusive 7_8 

Another  surgical  case  leading  to  the  opposite  conclusion.  A 
patient  of  Dr.  McKendrick  whose  Larynx  had  been  excised. 
The  Scotchman  at  the  Glasgow  University  with  a  harmonium 

reed  in  his  throat  in  piac»  of  vocal  cords ^ 

Still  another  surgical  case  mdicating  that  vowels  are  formed  in  the 
mouth  and  not  the  Larynx.  The  case  of  Edward  Matthews 
upon  whom  Dr.  Moore  had  performed  the  operation  of  Trache- 
otomy. There  was  no  passage  of  air  from  the  lungs  into  the 
mouth,  and  yet  the  man  was  able  to  speak  intelligibly 9-11 

QUESTIONS. 

Is  it  possible  to  constrict  the  false  vocal  cords? ...  n 

Ple~..se  illustrate  the  development  of  ng i  i.i.^ 

^r.  Bell  develops  non-vocal  r  from  Ih;  please  demonstrate ii-ia 

How  would  you  develop  sh 11-12 

How  to  manii  date  the  tongue.    General  principles  involved 11-12 

What  would  you  do  with  a  pupil  who  gives  ng  too  f.-r  back ? 1  j 

Please  demonstrate  that  intelligible  speech  does  not  depend  upon 

perfect  vowel  positions 13-16 

In  a  whisper  are  the  vocal  cords  lax  or  ten^e  ? ig 

THE  PHARYNX  AND  MOUTH  IN  THEIR  RELATION  TO  SPEECH. 

Pitch,  loudness,  and  quality  o*  the  voice  originate  in  three  differ- 
ent parts  of  the  vocal  apparatus.     Pitch  determined  by  vo. 
cords,  loudness  by  abdominal  muscles,  and  quality  by  the  pa 
above  the  vocal  cords 17-ig 

Metallic  quality   caused   by   the   approximation   of  the   posterior 
pillars  of  the  soft  palate ig.  _,, 

Guttural  quality  caused  by  approximating  the  base  of  the  tongue 
to  the  back  of  tlie  Pharynx ^i 

Nasal  quality  caused  by  the  habitual  depression  of  the  soft  palate    21-22 


xii 


SYNOPSIS. 


Pleasant  quality  produced  by  i-lcvatioii  of  soft  palate  and  rxpan-     '"*** 
sion  of  the  cavity  ol   (lit-   Pharynx.     Any  constriction   in  the 

pharyngeal  cavity  fatal  i..  the  lieaiity  of  the  vi>ice 2V-J4 

Vowel  quality  caused  by  the  shape  of  the  nioiuli  cavity ;  variations 

of  shape  pruluciiiK  correspi.udniK  variations  of  vowel  quality..         J^ 
Why  change     in  the  shape  of  the  cavities  of  the   I'harynx  and 

month  affect  the  quality  of  the  voice.    Resonance. 24-21; 

Resonance-tone  of  bottle  containing  water  can  be  lowered  in 
two  ways :  By  pouring  out  some  of  the  water  or  by  constrict- 
ing the  neck  of  the  bottle.     Application  to  the  cavities  of  the 

Pharynx  and  Mouth  „_2^ 

(-.erman  rlt  should  be  treated  as  an  English  element  and  taught  to 
every  deaf  child  :i  -  the  position  of  the  tongue  enters,  as  a  con- 
cealed position,  into  the  com|.osition  of  tb-ee  English  elements 
which  are  usually  pronotniecd  in  a  very  cfcctive  manner  by 
deaf  children,  viz..  r./i.  -w.  ami  „n.  Correct  position  for  German 
ch   readily   determined   by   the    resonance-oitch   of  the    mouth 

"vity    3g_2y 

Examples  of  sympathetic  vibration 27-28 

Sympathetic  vibration  a  result  of  inertia.     Illustrated  by  child's 

s*'"K  39 

The  double  resonance  of  the  front  series  of  vowels y, 

The  /r.thesis  of  vowel  sounds  by  Helmholtz;  and  reference  to 
the  technical  paper  reprinted  in  the  Appendix  entitled,  "Vowel 
Theories"  

THE  FUNCTIONS  OF  THE  EPIGLOTTIS  AND  SOFT  PALATE. 

During  the  act  of  swallowing,  the  closure  of  the  Epiglottis  against 
the  upper  part  of  the  Larynx,  prevents  food  from  passing  into 
thelnngs ^_^ 

Durmg  the  act  of  mastication  the  soft  palafe  is  depressed  against 
the  back  of  the  tongue,  thus  shutting  in  the  partly  masticated 
food  within  the  mouth-cavity,  and  permitting  breathing  to  be 
carried  on  through  the  nasal  passages  without  anv  danger  of 
inhaling  particles  of  food ', ,.  ^ 

During  the  act  01  speech  the  position  of  the  soft  palate  directs 
the  current  of  an-  from  the  lungs  through  the  mouth  alone, 
through  the  nose  aione,  or  through  both  passage  ways  simul- 
taneously          ' 

METHODS  OF  STUDYINf;  THE  MECHANISM  OK  SPEECH. 

Effort  of  expiration  continuous  during  act  of  speech.  Bagpipe 
illustrations.  Intermittent  action  of  abdominal  muscles  apt  to 
become  habitual   ii-i« 

The  material  from  which  speech  is  made  is  a  -,tore  of  compressed  air 
within  the  Thorax,  Escape  of  air  hindered  by  partial  closure  of 
the  glottis  so  that  emission  takes  r  -ce  only  through  f^ne  orifice.        35 

Effect  of  partial!-  plugging  a  water-faucet  with  the  finger.  Slow 
silent  stream  converted  into  rushing  torrent  which  spurts  out 


SYNUfSIS. 


xm 


i 


Pift 


35 


.« 


36 


with  great  noise.  In  the  production  of  noise  a  little  water  goes 
a  Rreat  way,  and  noiiiy  spurt  ran  be  sustained  for  long  period 
without  expenditure  of  much  lUiid.  Application  to  the  case  of 
the  vocal  organs 

Speech  'bounds  produced  hy  partially  plugging  the  air  passage 
from  the  lungs.  Elements  of  speech  result  from  constrictions 
of  some  kind;  'nd  tile  mechanism  of  speech  sounds  is  studied 
by  determining  the  location  aiiil  nature  of  those  constrictions 
that  produce  an  4  modify  the  sounds 

In  describing  a  constriction  we  distinguish  three  associated  ele- 
ments, vir.,  (I,  h,  two  organs  which  are  approximated  together, 
and  c,  the  condition  of  the  passaKc  way  Ijctween  them.  A 
constriction  is  usually  term'-d  "A  position  of  ihe  vocal  organs", 

Wlien  two  or  more  positions  of  the  vocal  organs  are  simultane- 
ously assumed  the  effect  upon  the  ear  is  that  of  a  single  sound. 
Combinations  of  positions  produce  a  sound  of  different  quality 
from  that  pro<luced  by  the  component  positions  assumed  si,>a- 
ratcly.  Chemical  simili'.  Water  is  a  substance  of  different 
character  from  either  of  the  gases  of  which  it  is  formed;  and 
the  vow,-'  00  is  a  sound  of  very  different  character  from  that 
of  any  of  its  elementary  positions 

Relations  of  speech  sounds  to  one  another  can  be  shown  by  means 
of  algebraical  equations.  Performing  la  equation  upon  the 
mouth    

Description  of  the  Speech-Symbols  devised  by  Alexander  Melville 
Bell.  The  fundamental  characters  represent  the  vocal  organs, 
and  the  various  kinds  of  appertures  employed  in  the  production 
of  speech  sounds.  These  ar;  combined  into  a  compound  char- 
acter tu  express  a  position  of  the  vocal  organs.    Illustrations.. . 

In  order  to  fit  the  symbols  for  use  as  a  phonetical  alphabet,  it 
became  necessary  that  associated  position  symbols  should  bn 
combined  into  a  single  symbol  capable  of  use  like  a  letter  of 
the  alphabet.  Principles  of  abbreviation  employed  to  accomplish 
this  result — with  illustrations  46-49 

General  plan  of  using  the  symbols  in  the  instruction  of  the  deaf. .        50 

MELVILLE  liELL'S  SPEECH-SYMBOLS  AS  TAUGHT  TO  THE  DEAF. 

Exhibition  of  seven  charts  illustrating  the  method  of  explaining 
the  meaning  of  the  speech-symbols  to  deaf  children  who  know 
no  language;  with  detailed  explanations  of  the  mode  of  pro- 

"''"«    57-74 

QUESTION'S. 

Can  a  person  realize  by  any  feel-ing  ;he  muscular  condition  repre- 
sented by  the  symbols? 75 

Why  do  you  begin  with  lip  positions  instead  of  back  positions?. .        75 
Learning  to  speak  is  like  learning  to  shoot.    If  you  fail  to  hit  the 
bull's-eye  and  are  simply  told  that  you  have  failed,  you  get  no 


38-39 


39 


40-46 


ihr 


■YHOntS. 


information  that  will  help  to  make  you  a  good  marksman.  You 
must  know  where  your  bullet  struck  when  you  failed ;  so  as  to 
•ee  the  relation  between  the  point  struck  and  the  noint  you 
intended  to  hit.  Through  the  speech-symbols  the  eaf  child 
can  be  shown  what  he  did  with  his  mouth  when  he  failed  to 
produce  the  sound  intended,  and  the  relation  of  the  incorrect  to 
the  correct  position.  The  'NO-NC)"  method,  besides  di.courag- 
ing  the  begnuicr.  fails  to  give  the  very  information  that  is  neces 
s«ry  to  his  progress  ^ 

What  is  accent  .>  Accented  syllable  "longer  than  the  others'  rather 
than  louder     Illustrations  

".ay  not  syllables  containing  short  vowels  be  accented ;  and  how 
can  you  prolong  the  syllable  if  the  vowel  is  short?  In  such 
cases  the  succeeding  consonant  is  prolonged  instead  of  the 
vowel.  Illlustration:-'Tc.  be  or  AOr  to  be,  that  is  the  que:- 
tion.  With  an  emphatic  ".Vo^'  the  hiatus  caused  by  the  pro- 
longation  of  the  shut  position  of  the  /  is  so  great  as  to  occasion 
a  perceptible  silence  in  the  midst  of  the  sentence.  77  78 

Have  you  ever  thought  of  there  bemn  a  difference  of  pitch' in 
accent?    

Please  imitate  lU-lon  Kollir'.s  voice '...'....[.''. !» 

How  would  you  teai-Ii  r  and  /.' _g_^ 

Adopt  the  rule  of  tt. idling  deaf  children  to  give  r,  /  ':i.   and  y  ' 

withoi.t  voice  where  tliey  follow  non-vocal  consonants  in  the 

same  syllable    „ 

Vocal  consonants  where  they  occur  as  final 'elenieius' arc' much 
improved  when  the  pupil  is  taught  to  finish  off  with  the  non- 
vocal  form  of  the  ronsorant  softly  uttered g^J 

WTien  two  vocal  consonants  end  the  last  syllable  uttered^  it  is 

better  to  give  the  last  consonant  iion-vocally g^ 

How  do  you  get  pupils  to  give  long  c  easily?,.  g^, 

Please  H  monstrate  the  leaching  of  i^  in  "cotton."  '  'Exercises 
recomn.ended  to  gain  control  of  the  soft  palate  in  uttering  such 
combinations  as  /-»,,  tn.  kng;  bm.  H„.  g„g.     Also  «/,  „d.  Int. 

'^"'' '"''"' 8,-«,, 

DEFECTIVE  CONSOXANTS  AND  HOW  TO  CORRECT  THEM 

Defects  of  the  shut  consonants.  /-.  /,,  ,„.•  (,  ,/,  „;  k,  a  ne  Click 
defects  a    o 

Analy,sis  of  the  actions'of'the   vocal   organs   in   producing 'the  ^ 

sound  of  a  kiss,  a  typical  click  sound g,_j;ij, 

A  click  results  from  opening  a  passage  way  into  a  cavity  in  which    ' 
the  air  is  of  diflferent  density  from  that  outside  ««_«., 

Suction  clicks,  and  expulsion  clicks  ^"^ 

Clicks  given  by  deaf  children  and  the  mode  of  'correction .' '.'..'  ^. 
Defective  combinations  of  />.  /,  and  *  .  Z}1 

Corrections  of  the  defects  of  b.  d.  g,  m,  and  «.  '  Other  defects' of 
the  consonants  and  the  mode  of  correction g^.^^ 


I  :'£l^'^^Siit  'i  r%9^ 


■VNOMIt. 


sv 


DEFECTIVE  VOWELS.  GLIDES.  AND  DII  UTHONGS. 

Precise  vowel  quality  difficult  to  obtain  from  deaf  children.  The 
reason  why  thit  is  so.    A  mirror  essential  in  correcting  vowel 

defects loo-lcu 

German  ,  A  forms  the  keynote  to  the  vowels 103 

Melville  Cell's  complete  vowel  scheme 103 

Table  of  English  vowels  showing  their  place  in  the  complete  vuwrl 

•scheme    104 

Table  of  English  Vowels  as  taught  ti)  the  deaf 107 

Frnklinifc  murmur  of  the  ''oice  in  place  of  glide  r 108-109 

Ordinary  usage  tolerate  .isidcrable  latitude  in  the  pronuncia- 
tion of  vowels  Consonants,  and  small-aperture  vowels  in 
accented  syllables  must  tje  accurately  given ;  whereas  consider- 
able latitude  may  be  allow  d  in  the  pronunciation  of  medium- 
aperture,  and  large-aperture  vowt's ;  and  of  diphthongal  sounds 

wherever  they  occur  til 

La*  of  combination.  Successive  positions  of  the  vocal  organs 
do  not  smiply  come  one  after  the  other  like  the  letters  on  a 
printed  page,  but  overlap.  A  position  is  retained  until  the 
mouth  is  in  positiot;  for  the  next  element.  Principle  of  com- 
bination illustrated  b)  the  syllables  ^t\-,  iii-i\  and  gcc.  The 
chief  difficulties  of  ---tici.Jation  teaching  lie,  not  so  much  with 
the  elementary  sounds,  as  with  their  combinations  into  syllables. 
Thorough  comprehension  of  the  law  A  combination  by  both 
teachers  and  pupils  essential  Iia 

CONCLUDING  REMARKS  UPON  ARTICUL.\TION  TEAv  HING 
With  hearing  persons  {he  elements  of  speech  constitute  the  frial, 
not  the  initial,  exercises  of  articulation.    Word-method  of  teach- 
ing commended  as  more  natural  than  the  element-method  now 

in  use    1 13-1 14 

Practical  difficulties  in  the  way  of  applying  the  word-method  to 
the  deaf.  Suggestions  how  to  overcome  them.  That  method 
which  conforms  most  nearly  to  the  method  whereby  hearing 
children  acquire  speech  most  worthy  of  adoption  by  teachers 
of  the  deaf 1 14-1 15 

QUESTIONS. 

I  would  like  to  know  if  the  symbols  on  your  charts  represent  the 
elements  to  which  you  would  reduce  all  the  English  wordr 115 

I  notice  that  the  glide  r  is  omitted.  I  see  in  the  symbols  that  an 
indefinite  position  of  the  mouth  represents  voice  glide.  Is  it  the 
same  thing?  115-116 

When  we  give  a  deaf  child  the  indefinite  voice  mark  in  place  of 
glide  r,  we  obtain  from  him  a  sound  that  approximates  very 
closely  to  the  vernacular  effect.  This  plan  commended  by 
Miss  Yale   1 16 


'fwitfSMS.  wi''"j^mTrirKr^:3^^LM^mt'»i' 


THF  THOKAX  AND   LARYNX. 

Ph.  thoi  IX  is  the  trc-jsun'-housc  of  the  huin.in  body.— .1  verit- 
able stronK-room.  gin  about  with  walls  of  bone  for  iho  protection  nf 
those  precious  organs  the  heart  anj  lungs.  Let  ui  imagine  our- 
selves for  a  moi.ienl  inside  the  thoiax.  but  first,  with  your  permis- 
sion, let  us  empty  this  safe-deposit  vault  of  its  valuable  contents,  so 
that  we  may  have  space  for  exploration. 

We  find  ourselves  in  a  d.irk  room  or  x-ault  with  a  door  in  the 
roof.  The  floor  of  this  vault,  instead  of  being  firm  and  solid,  is  a 
soft  membrane  or  muscle, -not  flat  like  an  or.jmary  floor,  but  dome- 
shaped  like  the  top  of  an  open  umbrell.t.  The  door  above  is  a  sort 
of  double  trap  door  set  at  an  angle  intead  of  being  flat,  and  open- 
ing  upwards.  But  the  most  extraordinary  thi.ng  about  this  room  is. 
that  the  floor  is  in  constant  motion,  heaving  upwards  and  down- 
wards in  regular  pulsations.  The  trapdoors  a',o  are  in  motion; 
now  they  are  opened  so  that  a  i-limpse  c  n  be  obtained  of  passages 
above,  and  now  thev  come  together  with  ,1  quiverir  motion,  open- 
ing  and  shutting  with  great  r.ipiditv.  smd  causing  a  vibration  that 
makes  the  whole  thorax  tremble.  The  walls  also  are  in  motion,  the 
whole  room  alternately  increasing  and  diminishing  in  size. 

A  membranous  muscle  when  it  contrads  tends  to  become  flat 
and  tense;  and  many  of  us  have  had  the  idea  that  the  diaphragm  or 
dome-like  floor  of  the  thoracic  cavity,  in  contracting  becomes  flat 
like  the  head  of  a  drum.  This  idea  is  incorreft,  for  the  central 
portion  of  the  diaphragm  is  attached  above  by  ligaments  and  tis- 
sues to  the  bony  walls  of  the  thorax,  so  that  it  is  incapable  of 
descent.  The  circumference  or  edge,  also,  is  attached.  When, 
therefore,  the  diaphragm  contrarts.  the  dome-like  floor  becomes 
somewhat  conical  in  shape.  As  I  pifture  the  adion  in  my  mind,  it 
IS  as  though  the  dome  of  the  capitol  ii.  vVashington  were  to  change 
into  a  cone  somewhat  like  a  blunt  church  spire. 


'.'IV-'.^" 


.^¥^rs- 


When,    then,    the    diaphragm    contraas,    the   thoracic    floor 
becomes  unse  and  somewhat  conical  in  sh.,pe,  and  the  cavity 
of  the  thorax  is  thus  enlarged.     When  the  muscular  fibres  relax, 
the  tense  floor  becomes  loose  and  baggy,  resuming  its  dome-like 
shape,  and  the  space  within  the  thorax  then  becomes  less.    Con- 
tinuing our  explorations  we  find  that  the  front  or  chest  wall  of  the 
thorax  is  capable  of  slight  motion.      By  the   operation   of  cer- 
tain muscles,  the  ribs  can  be  raised  to  a  limited  degree,  so  as  to 
cause  an  increase  in  the  circumference  of  the  chest,  and  thus  an 
expansion  of  the  thoracic  cavity.     In  animals  which  are  prostrate 
gravity  helps  the  expanding  aftion,  but  in  man,  on  account  of  his 
upright  position,  the  weight  of  the  bony  framework  renders  a  dis- 
tinct effort  necessary  in  order  to  elevate  the  chest  wall,  and  relaxa- 
tion of  the  muscles  tends  to  collapse  and  consequent  contraction  of 
Ihe  thoracic  cavity. 

It  will  thus  be  seen  that  the  interior  capacity  of  the  thorax  can 
be  increased;  (i)  by  the  contraftion  and  consequent  depression  of 
the  diaphragm;  (2)  by  the  elevation  of  the  front  wall  of  the  chest; 
or.  0)  by  both  aftions  performed  simultaneously.  When  the  interior 
capacity  is  increased,  the  air  within  the  thorax  expands  to  fill  the 
increased  space,  thus  becoming  rarified.  If  the  trap  doors  are  open 
the  denser  air  of  the  atmosphere  then  presses  its  way  into  the  thorax 
to  supply  the  partial  vacuum.  The  act  of  inspiration  is  completed 
when  the  air  pressures  within  and  without  the  thorax  are  equal  If 
now  the  interior  capacity  of  the  thorax  be  diminished,  the  contained 
air  by  compression  becomes  denser  than  the  air  outside,  and  therefore 
tends  to  rush  out.  and  the  act  of  expiration  is  completed  when  the 
air  pressures  within  and  without  are  equal. 

Exhalation  can  be  effected;  (1)  by  relaxation  of  the  diaphragm 
which  rises  into  its  dome-like  shape;    (2)  by  relaxation  of  the  mus- 
cles that  raise  the  ribs,  thus  allowing  the  front  wall  of  the  chest  to 
fall;  or  (3)  by  both  processes  performed  simultaneously.     We  can- 
not, however,  by  any  of  these  means  produce  that  forcible  expul- 
sion of  air  that  is  requisite  for  speech,  for  relaxing  muscles  cannot 
exert  much  compressing  power.     What  we  need  for  speech  is  a 
forcible  compression  of  the  thoracic  cavity.     This  can  be  effected  by 
the  abdominal  or  waist  muscles.    The  contradion  of  these  muscles 
produces  a  compressing  effect  upon  the  viscera,  just  as  though  a 
rope  were  passed  around  the  waist  and  drawn  tightly.    This  com- 
pression forces  the  viscera  upwards  against  the  under  «ide   of 
the  diaphragm.    The  diaphragm  is  thus  pushed  up  like  a  piston 
Into  the  thoracic  cavity,  compressing  the  contained  air.     In  this  way 


f 


i 

I 


for  able  emission  of  ..r  is  caused  by  the  contraction  of  the  abdom- 
.nnl  muscles,  and  these  are  the  muscles  that  we  employ  in  throwing 
out  the  voice.  For  example  :-Prolon,r  a  vowel  sound,  suddenly 
mcrcasmg  the  force  into  a  shout,  a  number  of  times  in  succession 
without  stopping  the  voice,  thus:-ah.  AH-ah-AH-ah-AH  M 
every  shout  a  forcible  contradion  of  the  abdominal  muscles  can  be 
felt  by  the  h.and.  and  the  front  wall  of  the  chest  is  thrown  upwards 
by  the  force  of  the  compressed  air  within  the  thorax,  pulsatin,.  out- 
wards with  every  shout.  ' 

Alternate  inspiration  and  expin.tion,  result  from  alternate  cxpan- 
two  il",   '''""■''^'""  °^  '^'  '^"'''''^  <^^'^«v.     This  can  be  effeded  in 

r.,-  r  T  T"'*  '^"  "'''-''    ^')  '>'  "^'"g  '""^'^''^^  that  tend  to 

n         t  Tr    ""''  '"'"^  ''  ''''''''  ^^°'"  «"'^  ^'"°»her  slightly; 
.Hid    (2)  by  depressing  the  diaphragm. 

We  can  contrad  the  cavity:  (,)  by  allowing  the  chest  wall  to 
a  .using  muscles  that  tend  to  bring  the  ribs  nearer  together;  and 
(2)  by  employing  the  abdominal  or  waist  muscles. 

Of  these  two  possible  modes  of  adtion,  it  will  be  seen  that  one 
involves  the  expenditure  of  less  energy  than  the  other.  It  is  less 
mborious  to  breathe  by  using  the  diaphragm  and  waist  muscles,  than 
by  moving  the  heavy  bony  framework  of  the  chest. 

When  the  diaphragm  contrads,  cnanging  from  the  dome-like 
to  the  conical  shape,  .t  presses  downwards  upon  the  viscera,  thus 
causmg  an  expansion  of  the  abdominal  cavity.     When  the  abdom- 
Ina    muscles  contraa.  the  circumference  of  the  waist  diminishes. 
Thus  in  natural  breathing,  produced  by  the  alternate  aftion  of  the 
diaphragm  and  the  abdominal  muscles,  the  circumference  of  the 
waist  increases  during  inspiration,  and  diminishes  during  expiration 
I  doubt  the  advisability  of  direding  a  pupils  attention  to  these 
.notions,  for  his  attempts  at  reprodudion  are  often  attended   bv 
ludicrous    results.     The    end    desired    would,  I    think,  be    better 
attained  by  direding  his  attention  to  the  chest,  and  not  to  the 
abdomen.     Get  the  pupil  to  expand  the  chest  and  keep  it  con- 
tinuously expanded  even  when  breathing  out.     If  the  bony  frame- 
work  of  the  chest  is  kept  raised  and  fixed,  breathing  can  only  be 
performed  by  the  diaphragm  and  waist  muscles  ;  and.  as  the  pupil 
cannot  he  p  breathing,  nature  will  work  the  proper  muscles  without 
his  knowledge  or  will. 

This  effort  of  continuous  expansion  can  only  be  sustained  for  n 


b    •■uuis.      ine  exercise   usually  results  in    ■!    ~.-,i     i 
increase  in  the  capacity  of  the  ch^^t     i  u        ,  ^*'^'^^'' 

I  .  „     '""y  exercised  a^  those  of  ordinary  children. 
at;on  of  the  b bod,  and  1--  a^ttincr  w^  ^r  .u  !  ^    oxygen- 

nterfermg  with  the  primary  funrtion  of  the  lungs.  Ere  Ijves 
the  s.gnal  for  inspiration  when  the  blood  needs  oxvirenat  on  InH 
When  we  attempt  to  regulate  the  breath  consciousTwe  a  ;  a"p 
o  interfere  with  the  circulation  of  the  blood.  Breat  Jng  exercises 
should  be  stopped  the  moment  dizziness  is  produced  for  thaU 
nature's  indication  of  a  disturbance  in  the  circulation 

Inspiration  is  utilized  for  the  oxygenation  of  the  blood    and 
expiration  alone  is  employed  in  the  produdion  of  speech.     Observe 
he  breathing  of  .  person  engaged  in  conversation  at  a  ime  wh^n 
he  ,s  unconscious  of  your  observation.     You  will  find  th^t  In! 
words  are  articulated  between  each  inspiration.     Te  t'm     re- 
fer inspiration  IS  instantaneous,  whereas  the  duration  of  the  expira 
on  IS  very  long.     The  breath  comes  in  quickly,  and  go"  o" 
slovvly.     Th      means  that  the  trap  doors  in  the  roof  of  the  thorack 

dunng  the  aa  of  speech,  that  only  a  fine  stream  of  air  can  escane 
from  the  thorax.  The  prime  requisite  for  speech  is  a  sto  of  com 
pressed  air.  which  can  be  let  out  little  by  httle.  as  w  n^ed  ?tt 
obvious  that  the  air  would  escape  with  a  gush  unless  restain  d 
wh!c  ?t ''"'''.  f'^^'y  ^""^^'l  to.  constitute  the  chief  mtnrb; 
which  a  too  rapid  escape  of  air  is  prevented.  These  trap  doors  arl 
known  as  the  vocal  cords,  and  they  are  contained  in  the  Lynx 


5 


THE    LARYNX. 
Fig.  1. 


Vertical  seftion  of  the  Larynx 
as  seen  from  behind. 


Vertical  seftion  of  the  Larynx 
as  seen  from  the  side. 


Tu^  1  ^*  ***"  "■<""  the  side. 

«a«y  Of  a  L.  sLouX'bt    ml*  ZlJ  'r^T"' 


entering  the  lungs.     Inside  this  box  are  two  oair.  nf     . 
lower  pair  caned  the  true  voca.  cords.  ^^S^J^Z   I'' 
upward,  and  the  upper  pair  known  .^  th«  fV  ^*  ^"^^^ 

with  their  edges  downwards     Th.  .  ""  '*'"'  '°'^'-  '^^"« 

doors  to  Which  ,  have  beforltudid  ""^  ""^''"^^  ''^  ^"*> 


no.  iooi'iik.  ."„r"„  inr .:? ".r  „7  "■''"'" '""'  -""^  * 

suggestive  of  tr.n^.    or  strings  jt  .ill-nor  perhaps  are  they  very 

inrclosJ™^  ,h  "^        '■         "^  '"''"  '•"■"'"'"•'•y  ""d  remain, 
the  nlZ^,  *■ "  '■'S'il.ir  serte  of  puffs  „,, ,  be  produced 

1  trv„r  Lr'rt  f"^'  °' "- '"""  "-«-"'/*- 

and  closed   more  thin  thirtv    ^n.         •  ^    ""  ''  °P'-'°'^^' 

;;<^...u.u.fd:fr;x::n;::r:;i;i;l::-;;: 

serve  the  v.olnmt  tuning  his  instrument.     He   turns   ,  nZ    ,  , 
end,  thus  tightening  the  string      At  ^  ,.h  ,n  /   ^^  ^  "''' 

The  short    tt-K  whole-and  the  pitch   becomes  higher 

instead  of  the  whole.     Observtions  mH.  k  '"'"''*'• 

manner;  whereas   in  tit    <. hi  "' '''   ^''^'^""'^   *"   ^^is 

.  wnereas,  m  the      chest  register."  the  vocal  cords  vibrate 


..s  wholes,  and  the  changes  of  pitch  are  produced  by  variation,  .f 


Vocal  cords  vibrating  in  part.  Vocal  cords  Nibrating  as  wholes.* 

Dr.  Hewson.  during  the  course  of  his  lecture,  gave  utterance  to 
rather  a  startling  remark.     If  I  understood  him  corredlv   ho  ^.x' 
pressed  the  opinion  that  some  of  the  vowel  sounds  are  formed  in 
the  larynx   and  not  m  the  mouth.     1  cannot  agree  with  him  in  this 
op>n.on   although  I  am  aware  that  he  can  quote  authorities  in  su  ! 
port  of  h,s  position     For  example:    Dr.  E.  M.  Moore,  of  Rochester. 
N.    Y..  has  published  an  account  of  the  following  case:f    Some 
years  ago  Dr.  Moore  attended  a  man  who  had  attempted  suicide  by 
utting  h,s  throaty    The  cut  was  immediately  above  the  thyroid  cZ 
tilage.  shaving  off  the  epiglottis  at  its  base.     The  wound  resulted  in 
an  oval  opening,  two  inches  long  by  three  quarters  of  an  inch  wide 
The  man  was  able  to  talk  at  any  time  by  bending  his  head  forward 
and  temporarily  closing  the  opening.     When  the  head  was  thrown 
back  he  lost  the  power,   but  Dr.  Moore  noticed  that  under  such 
circums  ances  he  could  pronounce  vowel  sounds  like  ah,  oh,  etc 
The  doaor  was  surprised  at  the  clearness  and  distinc'tness  of  the 
vowel  effeas.  for  the  sounds  seemed  to  emanate  from  th    J^wn L: 
wound  in  the  throat,  and  not  from  the  mouth.     Struck  by  this  cir 
cumstance.  the  worthy  doftor  made  a  unique   experiment.     He 
introduced  .nto  the  wound  a  sheet  of  buckskin,  so  placed  as  to 
prevent  the  possibility  of  any  air  passing  from  the  larynx  into  t  ! 
mouth      The  only  outlet  left  for  the  breath,  was  the  yawning, 
wound.     He  then  asked  the  man  to  repeat  the  alphabet.  A.  B.  C  etc 
Or.  Moore  found  that  under  these  circumstances,  certain  vowel 
sounds  could  be  distinguished,  and  he  came  to  the  conclusion  tha 
these  vowek  were  formed  in  the  larynx,  and  not  in  the  mouth 

This  conclusion  would  be  more  reliable  if  he  had  shown  that 
the  man  cou.d  pronounce  these  vowels  with  his  mouth  shut  Of 
course.  If  the  vowe.s  heard  were  really  produced  in  the  brynx 
alone,  the  closure  of  the  lips  would  have  made  no  difference  in  the 

*  These   cuts  .,e  reproduced  „om  "  Voice,  Song,  andS^^^dT^^  ^ 

«  Transactions    ,  ■:,.  New  York  State  .Medical  Society.  .S^,,  pp.  ^yo-^S:. 


.'vt due'lo  theT  ''  ""  """"^  '""'"'y  '^  ''^''^'-  »hat  vowel  nu.I- 
effect.  *"  '^°'^  ^'"'^''  ^°"'J  '^^^^  been  fatal  to  the 

took  precauTons  to  r^  'h       "''"^         '"'^  '''•  ^ooresimply 

The  luth  ^^^^r^^jr;:::^^;:  t;r«^ ''-  -r^ 

the  mofth  would  then   in  effefl   h.  .T        .  '  "''""^'^^'  ""^ 

positions,  held  near  TZ:f:^X^^^^^^^  '''  T' 

cumstances.  resonance  effeds  .houM    i!  ^  .'       "'^^^  *"'''  *="- 
aaualpassageofarthroulhfh  K*!'    P'°''""'*   ^'^^out  the 

tor.  wh'en  pfoperlT  un^^be' ^"'^^  ordinary  resona- 

vibrating  tuning  fork  '°"°''°"'  ^''^^  ^'^'^  "^ar  a 

-d  1'  krjoft  Xr  IJ^T"'"-^  -  ^y -y  -e-  conclusive ; 

-.weisa^;^:---:---^^^^ 

whose  larynx  had  bLn  excLd     Th.      !•  ''^\'P/"''  °f  «  '"a" 
-r^PmWin    r^  "^''  ^"'^  ^  8^00'!  sonorous  voice  resulted 

Thr  :xrr  it::  s^r  ^^'^  ^-'^  ^^-^'^-^  ^^^^^^^^ 

was  simply  perfect  Verv  ^Z\'  ."""''''  ""'^  ^''  ^'"'^"'»»'"o" 
artificial  vdce  excepting  th.f  '^^  '"'^  '°""*  ^'^  ''*^*^'^^'* '"  the 
tion.     The  speech  was  InT'^  .'"^""tonous  and  without inflec- 

realize  that  the  so  rrof  Z"T  '"  '"'"^  *'^'  ''^  ^^^  '^'^•-"'t  to 
throat.  '^  '°"'"*  ^^^  •''  "^^tal  reed  inserted  into  the 

tirnel^;:!;;:^;:;;::^^;::^;^:^^ 

ror  experimental  purposes,  and     T  L  hear^hl^ffea  "^^^^ 
\anous  sizes  and  materials     H^  rn,.M  T  "^'""  *"^  '^"««^  o<^  reeds  of 

tenor,  and  from  tTnT  o  "sop^ral  t^l  '^  T  '""  '^^'^  ^^ 
reeds.  soprano  at  will,  by  employmg  suitable 

The  point  to  which  ,  would  dired  your  attention  is  this  r-^that  the 


vowels  were  all  perfeaiy  produced,  although  the  larynx  had  been 

We  have  seen  that  a  metal  reed  can  be  used  in  place  of  the 
ocal  cords;  and   I  am   inclined  to  think   that  the  real  larynx  ^ 
detached  from  the  body  and  operated  by  means  of  a  wind  chest' o 
organ  bellows   would  produce  an  efted  more  resembling  th    so  nd 
of  a  beatmg  reed,  than  the  human  voice.  The  quality  or  '•  timbre  "of 
he     aman  vo.ce.  I  believe,   is  due  in  a  very  minor  degree  to  the 
vo  a,  cord.,  and  m  a   much  greater  degree,  to  the  sha^s  of 
pas  ages  through   which  the  vibrating  column  of  air  is  passed 
As  the  shape  o    ,  e  passage  above  the  vocal  cords  controls  the  qual- 
ity or  /;,«*r.  of  the  voice,  we  may  be  sure  that  the  false  vocal  cords 
exert  some  influence  upon  the  quality  of  the  voice  especially  if  they 
-re  capable  of  approximation,  a  point  1  am  unable  to  decide     The 
ventnc^s,  also,  the  spaces  between  the  true  and  talse  vocal  cords 

qua hty  of  the  vo.ce.  for  they  constitute  two  small  resonance-cham- 
bers, situated  close  to  the  source  of  sound.  In  the  howling  monkey 
the  ventncles  are  expanded  into  pouches,  and  the  charaaeristic 
howl  produced  by  the  creature  is  due  to  the  resonance  of  air  in  those 
chambers. 

In  the  case  of  the  Scotchman  at  the  Glasgow  University,  the 
pitch  of  the  artificial  voice  produced  was  undoubtedly  due  to  the 
reed  employed,  but  the  quality  of  the  voice,  and  the  consonant  and 
vowel  eflfefts  were  due  to  the  passages  above,  through  which  the 
vibrating  column  of  air  was  passed. 

J  have  already  direded  your  attention  to  the  case  reported  by 
Dr.    Moore  of  Rochester,  New  York,  in  which   he  claimed  that 
cert^     vowels  are  formed  in  the  larynx  and  not  in  the  mouth.     Dr 
Moore  direded  my  attention  to  the  case  of  another  patient  of  his 
which  seems  to  prove  the  converse  proposition.  *    Dr.  Moore  had 
performed  upon  this  man  the  operation  of  tracheotomy.     At  the 
time  1  saw  the  patient  he  had  for  over  twenty  years  been  dependent 
(or  hfe  upon  air  supplied  through  a  silver  tube  inserted   in  the 
trachea.     The  glottis  had  become  completely  closed  and  -o  air 
could  be  forced  through  the  larynx  into  the  mouth.     The  strange 
feature  of  the  case  was  that  under  these  circumstances  the  man 
could   talk.     Of   course  the  speech   was  peculiar  on  account  of 

*C«e  of  Edward  Matthews.     See   Transactions  of  the  New   York  State  Medical 
Society.  iSjj,  pp.  t^t>-^82. 


lO 

the  absence  of  voice,  but  there  wa«  nn  -^  «•    ,      • 
it-     In  this  case  the    ir  v.hirh  "^'""^  '"  understanding 

from  the  lung  bu  from  t^  k  '"°""'^''  '"'^  '^'^'^  "'"«=  "ol 
-d  compress' the  r'n^eih'::,  '^  we  Cose  the  ,ips  tightly 
pharynx  expands  under  thpse  ^rt "  f  ^^^  ^'°-'  «"«-• 
rubber  ball  would  expand  if  Z  were  !  N  '' "^.' ^'"^^  "^ '' 
opening  the  lips  the  contradion  of  The  oh  '"'°  "     ^P°" 

puff  of  air.  A  puff  of  air  of  thi  I  I  ^  '''"^  ""''''  ^  ^"J'l'-n 
though  the  glottis  •  o;%?,o'"  'V  ^"'""^  -- 
acquired  such  .xpertness  n  .h  ^  r  P"^'"  '^'^  "'^"  ^ad 
pharynx  th.u  he  co^upoUeetl'L^  ?"'"^   •^'°"'  «'^'^ 

could  be  distinctly  heard  a  a  dis^n' e  wl  ?  '^  '""'  ^"'^^ 
nants  were  formed  with  very  g  e  t  im.  .'  ''''"''•  ''*'  '^"^^ 

consonant  position  resulted  m.^'  '"'^  ''''  ''"'^'''^  ^^  the 
tior^s  assumed  l"  th  1,  '  so'^.h  ?  T  ''""«'  '^'^  ^°"^'  P«- 
soundinglike.  Jhs^er^d  :l  ,  '  ^^  '''  '''^  ''^'  ^■°-^'  ^-''ty 
"peech  so  that  you  ma  v  und-r    .  """'''  "^^  ''^^^^'^'^•-*'-  ^f  his 

it.  the  nature  ^ZIZZ^'^'^  ""''''''"''  '^^  '  ""  '^-rib. 

through  the  larynx  into  It  moutf        "''  '^'"'"^'^  "^   ^"'^  passed 

-^jr^ry^cL:::— — ^^^^^ 

J^«.  Bell.     Yes.  sir;  quite  audible  speech 

«aual'u^i:nperilnrS  Tc  '"^  ""t"  '  ^'^'^^^^  '^o- 
tracheotomy  has  been  performed'  i  i, T"  ^u"'  ^''--  "P^^^''°"  ^i 
under  such  circumstancefuls;  13?:  ^"J""^  '"'  ^°-'' 
in  the  trachea.  Now  of  cou^  !  th  ^  I  "''"^  °^^''  ^''^  tube 
Which  you  have  a.read^  S  '•  t^Hh  !  t ''  '''  ""'"•^- 
duced  by  this  individual  by  long 'p  a^i  e  X\  ^'^'^  ^^"^  Pro- 
People  to  speak  when  that  tube  k  Hf?"  "^  ''  ''  P^^^*""^  for 

part  of  the  vocal  app  11  '  'L  d  'rr'''^^'' ^"^^  P""'^'?^" 
There  is  some  so/o'f  ^,1  ,  ^^  ^r"  '"-^-1 
speech.    The  remark  I  made  some  tZ  u      ""^  "  "°  '"■"'^'^"^ 

being  made  in  the  larvnx  I  "l  amLT  "'°"'  '''  ""^^^  ^-^^ 
the  experiments  thatvou  hav  hrthe  n  '""^  '"''  °' '°"^^^ 
not  come  to  the  notice  of  either  myself  or^h'T'  °'  '''''"^'  ^'^^ 
preceded  me.  in  making  sU^^JZ^ZllZ"^^^^^^  ,"!;°.  ''^' 
quoted.     Your  experience  /  believe   ilT  ^  '^''"''  '  ^^^^ 


1 


II 

made  :.s  you  h.,vc  .L-Uik-d  mem  U,-a.,v.  With  reference  to  th, 
closure  of  the  uppci  p.,rt  of  the  vo.al  app.r.itus  by  diphtheric  mem- 
brane, and  the  introduction  of  a  tube  into  the  trachea:  I  may  say 
that  m  order  that  any  sound  may  be  produced  at  all.  the  tracheal 
tube  must  be  closed.  Now.  if  the  parts  above,  are  almost  closed 
by  the  diphtheric  membrane,  no  sound  is  produced.  However  I 
can  readily  see.  from  a  knowledge  of  the  muscular  tissue  surround- 
ing the  parts,  that  .such  sounds  could  be  produced  as  you  have 
detailed  in  this  individual. 

Dr.   Bell:      In   the  case   of  this  individual  I  have  just  men- 
tioned, no  air  could   pa.ss  up  into  the   mouth,  under  any  circum- 
stances.    The    aperture  in   the  windpipe  remained  open.'  and.  all 
the  time  he  was  speaking,  air  gushed  out  of  the  tube  in  his  thioat 
forming  a  whistling  accompaniment  to  his  speech. 


Dr.  Bell.   I  have  a  number  of  questions  here  for 


Miss  Yalr: 
you  to  answer. 

Dr.  Bfiix:  The  first  question  is:  "Is  it  possible  to  constrid 
the  faLse  vocal  cords.?"  I  think  that  Dr.  Hewson  will  be  more 
competent  than  I  am  to  answer  that  question. 

Dr.  Hewson:  I  cannot  conceive  of  any  muscular  fibres  con- 
stricting the  ventricular  bands,  or  false  vocal  cords. 

Mr.  Crouter:  How  was  it  with  the  Scotchman,  Dr.  BeiP 
Dr.  Bell:  There  were  no  vocal  cords  in  the  case  of  the 
Scotchman  the  vocal  cords  were  represented  by  a  harmonium  reed. 
I  hardly  know  how  to  commence  on  the  stream  of  questions 
you  have  set  for  me.  They  appear  to  be  of  very  great  impor- 
tance, and  I  should  be  very  glad  if  I  can  be  of  any  assistance  to 
teachers  here  in  answering  them.  I  may,  perhaps,  group  them  so 
as  to  answer  two  or  three  at  one  time. 

(i)     "  Please  illustrate  the  deve'-«pment  of  m;.' 

(2)     "Dr.   Bell  develops  non-vocal  r  from  //^•  please  demon- 
strate." 

0)  "How  would  you  develop  sAi'" 
I  will  take  up  these  in  one  group.  In  difficult  c.ises  you  wHl 
find  manipuLition  of  the  tongue  of  great  assistance:  and  I  think  that 
this  series  of  questions  may  be  answered  by  showing  you  how  to 
manipulate  the  tongue;  and  by  direding  your  attention  to  the 
nature  of  the  changes,  you  can  produce  by  manipulation.  You  can 
push  a  position  further  back,  and  you  can  enlarge  an  aperture  by 
manipulation;  but  you  cannot  do  the  converse.  If,  then,  your  pu- 
pil cannot  pronounce  a  given  sound,  let  him  give  a  sound  of  similar 


12 

The  pupi, c^nnot^o^oit  :;"Nor: : '" '': ^"""^"'-  <■•> 

"  -  a  sound  of  similar  fornv.tk  n  l,u  T      T,      ^'  ''"'  P^^"^""" 

^<>'^  it  in  the  Pupirs  S  :i'  /ro';;/\:^^"r-  -tter).  and 
the  tongue.  Now  tell  the  pupil  o  "T  tT  '^  °'  ''""'  ^'^^  ^^ 
t'-e  fondue  bcinx  fettered  the  bl!-k  .f  ^  '"""^  ""''  ^^°"»  °' 

■'  '-n^i-'ninor  and  Ml  him  "to  I  '"  "^^     ^°^  ^'^-^  '^'^  P^P'' 

rronouncc  ,;,.    n.t  indi  mcuTt        "  '^'  ^"P"  '^  '"'t  once  able  to 

manipulate  hL  to^  "  t    ^^r^^.^r't"''  ''  '''  '^"^  '«> 
mirror.  "''"'  ^^tchmg  the  effea  in  a  hand- 

llfl  the  point  of  the  tongue  whir        .        ""'■  ""''  «"''''»"' 

-nd  changes  ,o  .  hrso«t       1  kT  ''1: '"  T"   "^     ^"^ 
raised  higher  the  sounH  h.  "■"  '""•  ^-  th™  ijs  iho  longue  is 

'..«H=r, ,?  becotrr  :rr  w;:r,;:*'-  "v '""-  ""■ 

reached,    ,he  poi„,  oca,  J,l,  is  ag  „ ',    „  "•''^  P""'""  » 
"Pper  gum-just  where  the  Dall      *  '"'"■'  P"'  ">'  •"« 

aperture  over  the  eemre  "^         ""■"'ehces  ,o  arch-wilh  an 

pJ'tl":„^Sr-rT;ronhe^"  ^'-^  '™"°""«'*' 

y»u  cant  get  ng  ,oo  far  ba  k      Yo,       """""  ""^  """'i"".  f°' 

-J  these  are  vfry  com™  'defells     ,u  *"',  *  '"^  '  "^  '"  "»'"■ 

tongueisp,aced:gai„s,,™;a;1r,hVr':7'''%^-;°f>^= 
the  soft  palate,  but  such  i  no.itinn  P'^-''^^""  '"stead  of  against 

cause  the  •'epression'^f  tL'so  '^  ,  I  TXt^  "f  "™''  '^ 
nasal  passages,  the  shut  no.ifinn  k         u  ^'^'"'^  ''"''  '"to  the 

v»,difficu,?tocorrer:p''oro:tS,rh:4^"v:r=- "» 

-"outh,  and  push  the  ongu.h'^^fk^:  X°  'V"*""  '"  "» 
ex»p,e,.  where  ,ou  havt  *  toor;^:^^:?;-^*;",  .r/;: 


pronounce  /.  v/hilc  you  hold  the  manipulator  over  the  tongue  so  as  to 
prevent  any  portion  frum  rising,  fxceptin^  the  back.  In  this  way 
you  will  be  sure  of  a  Rood  k,  if  the  pupil  docs  mt  know  what  you 
are  aiming  at.  By  vocaii/inK  the  /,  \ou  gtt  m-  (Dr.  Bell  illustrated 
his  remarks  by  manipulating  the  'oiigue  of  a  deal  pupil.) 

The  next  question  is.  "Please  demonstrate  that  intelligible 
speech  does  not  depend  upon  perfeit  vowel  positions."  I  sh.ill 
read  a  few  sentences  from  a  book,  substituting  for  each  vowel 
sound  a  mere  indefinite  murmur  of  voice.  You  observe  that  the 
articulation,  though,  of  course,  very  peculiar,  is  perfectly  intelli- 
gible.* We  may  learn  from  such  an  experiment  as  this,  that  con- 
sonants are  much  more  important  elements  than  vowels.  Intelli- 
gibility of  speech  mainly  depends  upon  the  correct  pronunciation 
of  consonants.  We  could  manage  to  get  along  very  well  with  only 
one  vowel  sound,  if  indefinite  enough,  and  yet  make  ourselves 
understood.  I  don  t  mean  to  advise  you  to  teach  speech  of  this 
charader  to  your  pupils,  but  many  of  you  may  be  encouraged  to 
know  that  very  imperfed  vowel  sounds  will  not  prevent  your  pupils 
from  being  understood  by  relatives  and  friends.  Consonants  are 
much  more  easily  acquired  than  vowels,  .md  all  pupils  who  can 
pronounce  the  consonants  corredly  can  acquire  a  useful  articulation, 
even  though  they  murder  the  vowels.  That  is  their  speech  will 
be  intelligible  to  hearing  people,  and  therefore  useful  as  a  means  of 
communication,  even  though  it  may  not  be  very  pleasant  to  hear. 
Too  much  effort,  I  think,  is  made  to  impart  a  niceness  of  pro- 
nunciation that  is  not  appreciated  by  the  outside  world. 

When  1  first  entered  upon  the  work  of  articulation  teaching,  I 
was  very  proud  of  the  pronunciation  of  some  of  my  congenitally 
deaf  pupils.  They  had  been  drilled  upon  the  elements  and  were 
able  to  pronounce  words  and  sentences  written  in  Visible  Speech 
with  absolute  corredness,  slowly,  it  is  true,  but  with  pvrfecl  ele- 
mentary sounds.     To  my  (reat  mortification,  however,  I  found  that 


*  Re.ld  the  following  passaRe  aloud,  giving  an  indefinite  murmur  of  the  voice  for 
each  dash,  and  the  passage  will  be  intelligible:— 

-  p-nt-d  t-  th-  c-t  -nd  th-n  t-  -ts  n-m  -nd  -nd-v-rd  t-  m-k  h-m 
-n-rst-nd  th-  m-n-ng  -v  th-  r-t-ng  .  -Is-  t-t  h-m  t-  sp-l  th-  w-rd  -n 
h-s  f-ngg-rs.  -v-th-ng  th-t  h-  d-d  w-s  p-rf-mid  w-th  -  p--  -r-s  5-rt 
-V  -mf-s-j  th-t  w-d  h-v  n-d  -  p-rs-n  -nf-m-ly-r  w-th  th-  d-f  s-p-i 
th-t    h-    n-    -1    -b-t    't—Fromilny4mijls/br/atiujrr,i8<)i,p.^^, 

You  miy  substitut*  for  the  (-)  any  larg-;  aperture  vowei,  such  as  u  in  uft  tr  \n 
her.,  e  in  o«,  or  «vfn  «  in  eat,  without  destroying  inSelligih!!:!-.- 


1,.^,, 


'N,iL,  of  p  Jn.i   L'    f."   '"  '•■;  "-  ^l'™-"  ""-'I- '"-  on  J„or 
I'ililv     K.  us-,i,        ,.  ,  ""  """-I"™"-  10  i„i,.|ii»|. 

world  ,aik  w  I  ^  V  :n  ;„''::;'''','v''''  '"■■■"■"•'  i-f'^- "'  -h, 
or.hl'r;r\tt,k  tat'l.ri"'''"':™'''''''"'" '"'^  ■'-« -» 

speech  l,ke  h",,  wl  ch  I  ^'  ""'"'■■     ■-"'  ■"  "'  '■">'«'•'  ^''K 

aiiuuucr  II  given  in  the  same  manner  bv  i  H-.f  ^k;i  i     -r  . 
such     ttle   words  a«^„y«r     ^       '"*"'"*"^  "y  ••  deaf  child.     Take 

--nar^.n:^c.ria^Cr^rr^^^^^^ 

boy.  ^nn  apple,  or  ^i::^V cn^^Z:%^  T '''' '''' 
is  heard,  and  our  utterance  is  more^LT/1    k  ""''"  '"""'* 

The  same  indefinitene  o^e     ound   !  rh'''  T  'P^'^'  "  P"^" 

unaccented  syllables      Whv  thl  n    h     '^'^'^^^^<^^'-'«»":  of  all  our 

pronunciation  of  the  un^c'ent  ^  ;v  hbj  in     T'"'"  ^'°"^  ^'^^ 
fortable  (kumf-t-ble)    lesson    let  nf        w  ■!""'  '''''^'  ''•  """ 
nee).  woLan  (w:!km!  riffe.  j  (^1^0  Tbo  "."n^f  ^^^"^■ 
(r-«ot).  etc.     Any  sort  of  indefinT  ow  ^o  n^w"/^^^^^^^^ 
in  these  syllables  if  uMlysomy  uttered.  '^  "  *"""" 


■i';^-/ 


.*=»..' 


IS 

Wc  arc  tr.nn.nK  our  children  t.  t.i!k  f.  ordin.iry  ,.c..pk.  not  to 
clotutumists.  There  .ire  cert.iin  points  that  ir.ust  be  attended  t.>  in 
order  that  the  speech  may  he  satisfadory  to  ordinary  people:  but  in 
icKard  to  other  points,  ^uat  latitude  may  be  allowed. 

Consonant  elements  and  the  voweLs  in  accented  syllables  must 
be  properly  ..ronounced,  but  the  vowels  in  unaccented  syllables 
may  be  uttered  in  any  sort  ot  indetiniic  way  without  oIlondinK'  the 
.  hnary  ear.  .\ca-nt  and  rhythm.  I  think,  are  of  uunv  importance 
th.in  e.xact  pronunciation. 

In  ViMble  Speech  the  voice  symbol  (,)  is  used  to  indicate  an  in- 
definite  vowel  sound  like  <-/•  in  the  word  her.  or  like  the  .t  sound 
used  by  public  speakers  to  ill!  up  ^.ips  in  tiuMr  sentences- when-er 

-  they  are  not-er- very  -  tr  -  er  -  sure-,.- what  thevw.mt  to  say 
This  indefinite  vowel  si^n  I  consider  ,.  pc-rfcct  God-send  to  the 
teacher  ol  articulation.  cnaMinK  him  to  -d  rul  m  h,,lf  the  I  ibor  of 
articulation  teaching.  In  spelling  phonetically  the  vast  majority  of 
the  vowel  sounds  in  the  unaccented  syllables  may  be  represented  by 
this  indefinite  voice  mark ;  and  it  may  also  be'  substituted  every- 
where for  glide  /•.  I  would  recommend  those  who  do  not  use 
Visible  Speech  to  use  a  dash. 

Ordinary  people  who  know  nothing  ol  phonetics  or  elocution 
have  difticuhv  in  understanding  slow  speech  composed  of  perfea 
elementary  sounds,  while  they  have  no  difTiculty  in  comprehending 
an  imperfea  gabble  if  only  the  accent  and  ihythm  are  natural.  Too 
mutii  labor  is  bestowed  upon  unaccented  syllable-  Any  child  can 
give  an  indefinite  vowel  sound  that  may  be  combined  rapidly  with 
consonants.  I  have  seen  a  teacher  puzzling  herself  over  the  word 
comfotlabU.  The  first  syllable  gave  no  difficulty,  but  the  second 
syllable  was  not  pronounced  eiisily  by  the  child.  There  was  an 
attempt  on  the  part  of  the  pupil  to  give  long  d,  as  in  pole,  followed 
by  a  consonant  r  of  an  exaggerated  kind,  and  the  teacher  was  try- 
ing to  get  the  pupil  to  substitute  aw  for  o.  With  regard  to  the  last 
syllable  the  teacher  was  puzzled  to  decide  whether  the  vowel  should 
have  the  sound  of  a  in  table,  a  in  cat,  or  a  in  ask.  Now  the  fad  is 
that  the  exact  vowe!  sounds  in  the  unaccented  syllables  are  of  no 
earthly  consequence.     An  ordinary  ear  will  accept  an  ^f  inde- 

finite sound  as  good  speech,  if  the  word  is  uttered  rapidl  .  'h  due 
accent  on  the  first  syllable.  Even  an  elocutionist  would  not  ask  for 
a  consonant  r  in  the  second  syllable.  He  would  simply  demand  a 
gliding  of  the  tongue  towards  the  position  for  //  but  ordinary  peo- 


JiL^'^mr 


,\,i!r 


.■k">f*! 


10 

syllable  may  be  L„  *    /■  f»      Tl  "'""'•ortable"  ,h,  «o„d 

word:  .-.-te  ml^be  tZ  aT83  ^^^^^^^  ^^^  "'* 

"ounce  ,he  fc.  syLle  wri.  dS^!!*"'"''-'-'''-.  '"- 

However     M.  .h.""  ''°"''  """'  '"  ''''  ""'  "'"■  "ceented  vowels 

JO.  j;.;:e'eryrz'deSer;:r;;'t'f^ '» -- 
crrr:i::a:ss*-'i~^^^^^^^ 

vowe,  sound  In  ,b.  'd'e     ^waT  Tn  ,".1?"  "'  ^"■"•'  ^^ 
accented  vowels  ?  ^'  ^^^^^  '^'"■'■>'  '^  '"to  the 

be«ef:„fZionT;"a„le;t''beir  '^  *"  ""•     °'-"-'  "" 
in  nine,y-„lne  ou'^f"    fundtl         '  '°*  ""  '"  "^  '>"' 

-,e,y,  .MindefinlJsoJd  /ctw^r  '^  ™"  '"  """""'■ 
*^^s  and  „so  l„,o  nearly  A  Z^lZ^I^Il^'  "'""'"' 

or,ens;."'1nret;eS;wh"  ""?"•  '"  "'  ™-'  "* '- 

an  Obstroaion  ,o  .VeTarl^t'I  In'  re'^J.rr ""  ^  f'"  " 
are  not  adjusted  <:r>  -,<:  f^  •  g'ottis.     The  voca  cords 

.1-..  .be  oCa  -'u^r™  r ^'r""'"  ™'''"' ^'^"''™-  - 

•whisper."  "  ■'  ""''"ne  W"nd  tha  we  lerm 

Pkop^  B«,  :    Von  mean  cons,ri«ion  of  ,he  vocal  cords  I 
.weenihe  v^calcoS;;'  """*"  °""'  «'»'*- >^'  »Pa«  be- 


i 


.m-wi 


THE  PHARYNX  AND   MOUTH   IN  THEIR 
RELATION  TO  SPEECH. 


In  my  last  lecture  I  told  you  about  a  man  with  a  harmonium 
reed  in  his  throat,  in  place  of  vocal  cords.     Now,  ordinarily,  there 
is  vast  deal  of  ditlcience  between  the  sound  of  a  harmonium,  and 
the  sound  of  the  human  voice,  and  yet  in  this  case  the  reed  pro- 
duced the  effea  of  a  human  voice  wtien  the  man  spoke.     To  the 
ear,  therefore,  it  made  all  the  difference  in  the  world,  whether  the 
reed  was  vibrated  outside  or  inside  the  man's  throat.     Now,  we 
have  no  reason  to  suppose  that  the  thorax  and  lungs  operated  in 
any  different  way  from  the  wind  chest  of  a  harmonium.     They 
simply  supplied  air  to  set  the  reed  in   vibration.    The  difference  of 
effea,  therefore,  must  have  been   due  to  the  parts  above  the  reed. 
In  other  words,    the   pharynx,   mouth,   etc.,   were    the    agencies 
involved  in  changing  the  harmonium  effed  into  a  human  voice. 
Consider  for  a  moment,  the  nature  of  the  difference  between  the 
sound  of  a  harmonium  reed  and  a  sound  of  similar  pitch  sung  by 
the  voice.     The  same  note  may  be  played  upon  a  piano,  a  violin, 
a  flute,  or  a  trumpet,  and  yet  each  sound  has  an  individuality  of  its 
own.     We  can  tell  by  the  ear,  at  once,  which  instrument  is  used, 
although  all  the  notes  may  be  alike  in  pitch,  and  equally  loud.     The 
sounds  differ  from  one  another  in  "character,"  "quality"  or  "tim- 
bre," and  it  will  thus  be  understood  that  the  pharynx,  mouth,  etc., 
atTeft  the  quality  or  timbre  of  the  voice. 

We  can  recognize  that  every  sound  possesses  the  elements  of 
pitch,  loudness,  and  quality.  It  matters  not  whether  the  sound  be 
produced  by  the  human  voice,  by  a  musical  instrument,  by  the 
rustling  of  leaves,  or  by  a  knock  upon  the  door— it  has  a  certain 

•7 


|8 

loudness.  ;.  certain  pitch  miJ  a  certain  clKin.acr,  or  timbre  of  its 
"wn,  by  which  u-c  reco-rnizc-  it  from  other  sounds  of  similar 
pitcii  and  loudness. 

No\v-,  when  w,  study  ..he  i-roeluction  of  voice,  we  find  tli.n 
these  three  characleristus  .>ii:rin.,te  piinupailv  in  tiiree  ditlereiit 
parts  ol  the  vocal  apparatus. 

(1)  The  pitch  of  the  v.iici  is  determined  hv  the 

vocal  cords. 

(2)  The  loudness  by  the  .likiumin.il  (rr  expira- 

tory muscles:  and 
(5)  The  quality  or  timbre  hv  the  parts  above 
the  vocal  cords. 

1.  The  lips  of  the  glottis  open  and  close  with  great  rapidity 
and  the  frequency  of  the  vibration  is  mainly  determined  bv  the- 
tension  of  the  vocal  cords. 

2.  Air  escapes  from  the  L.n^s  through  this  vibrating  glottis  in 
a  series  ol  puffs,  and  the  force  of  emission  is  chieHy  determined  by 
the  adion  of  the  abdominal  or  expiratory  muscles. 

3.  The  upper  part  of  the  larynx,  together  with  the  pharynx, 
nares,  and  mouth,  constitutes  a  p.issage-way.  or  tube,  of  variable 
Mze  and  shape,  through  whi.  the  vibrating  current  of  air  is  passed. 
It  IS  here  that  the  voice  is  moulded,  so  to  speak,  on  its  way  to  the 
ear,  and  the  shape  of  the  passage-way  largely  determines  the 
quality  or  timbre  of  the  voice. 

You  can  produce  a  crude  voice-like  sound  bv  the  vibration  of 
the  lips  of  the  mouth.  Press  your  lips  very  /irmly  together  while 
you  blow  air  between  them,  so  as  to  cause  the  edges  to  vibrate. 
The  sound  produced  is  not  very  pleasant,  and  resembles  more  than 
anything  else  the  hum  of  a  bee,  or  the  buzz  of  an  imprisoned  tly. 
But  place  the  buzzing  lips  at  the  end  of  a  tube— for  e.xampie'a 
trumpet— and  at  r.nce  the  quaiitv  changes.  Out  come  the  clear 
ringing  tones  so  famili.ir  to  us  in  a  br.i.ss  band!  In  this  ca,-e  tlu- 
source  of  sound  is  found  in  the  vibr.ition  t<l  the  lips,  but  t!ie  tiuibre 
or  metallic  quality  is  due  to  the  trumpet. 

In  a  somewh.it  similar  manner  the  passage-way  or  tube, 
ti.iough  which  the  voice  is  passed,  affeas  the  quality  of  the  sound 
produced  by  the  lips  of  ti.e  throat;  and  if  we  couid  decapitate  a 
singer  in  the  midst  of  a  song,  so  as  to  he.ir  the  sound  produced  by 
his  vocal  cords  alone,  1  fancy  we  should  find  as  great  a  change  in 


1%.- 


■r*-, 


'?iia6l! 


:  Pill 


% 


i 


the  quality  of  the  voice,  as  we  do  in  the  somu!  produced  bv  the 
lips  when  the  trumtvt  is  removed.  The  beauty  of  the  voice  wou!  i 
be  gone,  and  you  would  simply  have  a  reed-like  el'tect. 

In  the  case  of  the  trumpet,  the  character  of  the  tube  affects  iirt 
only  the  quality,  hut  the  pitch  of  the  sound  produced.  For  example: 
If  you  lengthen  the  tulie,  the  lips  vibrate  more  slouly,  and  the 
sound  becomes  lower  in  ptcli.  In  the  instrument  of  speech,  how- 
ever, the  lips  of  the  glottis  are  so  admirably  adapted  for  independent 
vibration,  that  changes  in  the  passage-way  do  not  affect  their  rate 
of  vibration,  but  simply  change  the  quality  of  the  resulting  sound. 

A  number  of  years  ago  I  virited  a  large  school  for  the  deaf,  and 
taught  all  the  pupils  to  use  their  voices.  In  a  f-w  cases  the  cfTea 
was  decidedly  unpleasant,  the  voice  resembling  somewhat  the  cry 
of  a  peacock.  The  effea,  indeed,  was  so  unnatural  and  distressing 
to  the  ear  that  some  of  the  teachers  expressed  the  opinion  that  the 
vocal  cords  had  been  afTedcd  by  the  disease  that  had  caused  deaf- 
ness. They  thought,  therefore,  that  it  would  hardly  be  worth 
while  attempting  to  teach  these  children  to  speak.  Knowing 
that  the  quality  of  the  voice  is  chiefly  determined  bv  the  shape  of 
the  passage  through  which  it  is  passed.  1  did  not  consider  it 
necessary  to  assume  a  defed  in  the  vocal  cords,  but  rather  sought 
the  cause  of  the  peculiarity  in  some  constriction  of  the  passage-way 
higher  n  the  vocal  cords. 

'  ^  il  to  avoid  discoura^'ing  the  pupils  by  any  expres- 

sion of  d  .p^iroval,  so  they  were  entirely  unconscious  of  the  fad 
that  their  voices  were  unpleasant.  They  had  no  hesitation,  there- 
fore, in  repeating  the  disagree.ible  sound  as  often  as  I  desired;  and 
I  encouraged  them  to  repe.it  it  .1  great  many  times,  so  that  I  might 
study  the  effect  and  become  familiar  with  the  sound.  I  then  found 
it  possible  to  imitate  the  effed  myself.  This  was  proof  positive 
that  the  existence  of  the  peculiarity  was  quite  consistent  with  the 
possession  of  perfect  vocal  organs.  Having  acquired  tht-  ability  to 
repeat  the  effect,  I  set  myself  to  work  to  lind  out  what  I  did  with 
my  mouth  during  the  production  of  the  sound.  1  could  teel  a  con- 
striction somewhere  in  the  back  part  of  the  mouth,  and  therefore 
examined  my  vocal  organs  in  a  hand  mirror  while  I  depressed  the 
tongue  so  as  to  exhibit  the  whole  of  the  pharynx.  At  once  the 
c.iuse  of  the  peculiarity  bec.mie  manifest.  The  muscles  constitut- 
ing the  side  walls  of  the  pharynx  were  seen  to  be  forcibly  con- 
traaed.  and  they  were  approxini:ited  so  closely  together  as  almost 
to  touch.     After  a  little  pr.ictiee  I  found  myself  able  to  move  these 


^.ki^^Ll^'^JS.:^m^  €^ 


«r?.   - 


^r 


muscles  at  will  without  making  any  sound.  Then  I  tested  the 
effect  of  the  motion  upon  the  quality  of  the  voice.  When  the 
muscles  were  relaxed  and  the  cavity  of  the  pharynx  expanded  the 
quahty  of  the  vo.ce  was  good,  but  the  moment  the  side  walls  of 
he  pharvnx  commenced  to  approach  one  another  (see  dotted  lines 
m  Fig.  2.}.  the  charader  of  the  voice  changed.     It  acquired  a  pecull 


Fig.  3* 

The  posterior  pi,  Js  of  .he'soft  L,"      ^  \  IT""     m'  'f '  "'"''=  f"''^"- 
shown  by  dotted  lines.  ^         ^■'    '^  "^  "^'"'''^  °^  approximation,  as 

iar  metallic  ring,  somewhat  like  the  tone  of  a  brass  musicl 
-jstru-nent  The  effe^  became  more  and  more  disag  eeTb  ^1 
the  s,de  walls  approached,  until  the  peculiarlv  distressing  effeft  w« 
produced,  which  1  have  likened  to  the  cry  of  a  peacock      IZ 

s  n^'^For"  t;;r'^" '  -T''-'  ^  ^-p-e  thrv:J;es";  f 

n.  K  u  •'/'?  '^'''  '""^"'^  ^°  ^'^  *«  ^^"'i^'-  visible  the  soft  palate 
and  back  o  the  pharynx.  1  then  made  them  look  into  my  m'  ul 
whUe  I  silently  contraaed  and  expanded  the  pharynx.  Aftir  some 
praftice  they  were  able  to  imitate  the  adion. 

I  then  placed  my  hands  on  my  throat  while  I  repeated  th. 
exercise  with  voice.     Their  first  attempts  at  reprod  Z  't 
Ja^lures^n^^^^^^  ,,,  ,^,.^^    ,  p  J,,f„  ^^^^^^^^^^^ 

*  Reproduced  from  "  V^i^^7s^ii^^lii7sp€ech." 


31 


i 


of  the  muscles  about  the  pharynx  became  visible,  and  the  usual 
disagreeable  etTeC>.  was  produced.  By  means  of  the  mirror  1 
direaed  their  attention  to  the  constriaion.  and  told  them  to  expand 
the  pharynx,  as  they  had  done  before  when  they  made  no  no.se 
At  first  they  were  unable  to  relax  the  muscles  of  the  pharynx,  ■with- 
out stopping  the  voice,  but.  after  some  pradice,  they  succeeded  in 
doing  this,  and  at  once  the  voice  became  natural  and  pleasant  in 
quality. 

The  cavity  of  the  ph.irynx  may  be  roughly  likened  to  a  room 
with  four  walls.     The  b.ick  part  ot  the  tongue  constitutes  the  r.oiit 
wall  of  the  chamber,  and  opposite  to  it  is  the  back  wall  of  the 
pharynx.    The  side  walls  are  formed  by  muscles  that  extend  upwards 
to  the  soft  palate.     The  approximation  of  these  side  walls,  as  I  have 
already   explained,    imparts    to    the   voice  a   dis.inreeable   metallic 
quality.     The  front  and  back  w.ills.  too.  are  capable  of  approxima- 
tion, and  in  this  case,  also,  the  quality  of  the  voice  is  injuriously 
affected.    For  example :     The  tongue  may  be  held  so  far  back  in  the 
mouth   as   to  cause  the  base  of  the  tongue  to  come  almost  into 
contact  with  the  back  of  the   pharynx.     The  voice  then  acquires  a 
peculiar  "guttural  quality."     I  have  heard  ehis  kind  of  voi.     pro- 
duced by  deaf  children,   hut  it  is  more  cominop   I  think,  an^ong 
persons  who   hear,     it  is  rarely  heard  during  the  act  of  speech,  but 
many  persons  afled  this  guttural  quality  of  the  voice  when  they 
smg.     The  "metallic  quality  "  of  voice,  on  the  other  hand,  is  quite 
common  among  the  deaf,  although  it  is  rarely  so  marked  as  to  be 
painful  to  the  ear.    Many  hearing  persons  also  possess  it  in  a  greater 
or  less  degree.-espccialiy  persons  who  use  their  voices  much  in 
the  open  air.     For  example,  the  rasping  voice  of  the  street  hawker 
is  of  this  description. 

Another  peculiarity  of  voice  very  common  among  the  deaf,  is 
"nasal  quality."  This  is  occasioned  by  the  habitual  depression  of 
the  soft  palate.  By  means  of  a  hand  miiror,  the  cause  may  be 
shown  to  a  deaf  child. 

The  soft  palate  is  capable  of  elevation  and  depression.  When 
it  is  raised  it  fits  closely  against  the  back  of  the  pharynx,  forming  a 
ceiling  to  the  pharyngeal  cavity.  When  it  is  depressed,  it  hangs 
down  like  a  curtain,  leaving  a  passage-way  behind  it,  which  leads 
into  the  nares  or  nasal  passages. 

I  would  recommend  every  te.icher  of  articulation  to  learn  to 
control  the  movements  of  the  soft  palate  and  the  muscles  of  the 
pharynx,  so  as  to  be  able  to  exhibit  the  adion  of  the  parts  to  pupils 


22 


->'^'i,(, 


The  (list  point  you  have  to  learn,  is  to  depress  the  tongue  so  as  to 
unveil  the  pharynx  and  soft  palate.     Many  persons  find  difficulty  in 
doing  this,  but  by  persistent  elTorts  before  a  mirror,  all  can  acquire 
the  power.     Now   watch  the  soft  pal.ite  while  you  breathe  gently 
sometimes  through  the  mouth,  sometimes  throu-h  the   nose.     At 
first  the  soft  palate  appears  to  move  about  in  .i  most  mvsterious  ni.in- 
ner  by  itself,  without  any  volition  on  vour  part.     Nr.w   it  goes  up 
and  then  the  ne.xt  moment  you  see  it  hanging  loosely  down      By 
watching  these  motions  in  a  mirror,  and  attempting  to  control  them 
you  will  soon  find  yourself  able  to  elevate  or  depress  the  palate  at 
will.     Now  sound  the  voice  continuously,  and  observe  wha*  cffea 
IS  produced  upon  its  quality  by  the  movement.     You   will   notice 
that  the  moment  the  palate  falls,  the  voice  acquires  nas.ilitv   and 
that  this  effed  disappe.irs  when  the  palate  is  raised  into  conta/t  with 
the  back  of  the  pharyn.v. 

During  the  a.t  of  speech,  the  soft  palate  is  raised  continuously 
excepting  when  the  sound  of  ;«,  /,.  and  „ff,  are  uttered.     In  order 
to  correa  a  nasal  quality  of  voice,  therefore,  your  pupil  must  raise 
his  soft  palate.     The  question  arises,  however, -how  arc  you  goinc 
to  make  him  do  it  .^  ^      b      b 

Various  expedients  may  be  resorted  to.  such  as  the  common 
one  of  telling  him  to  blow  an  imaginary  feather  away  fn,ni  his 
mouth  while  bespeaks;  but  these  are  all  indired  methods,  and  do 
not  touch  the  root  of  the  matter.  I  would  recommend  you  to  go  for 
the  soft  palate  itself,  diiedly,  wth  a  hand-mirror.  Teach  your  pupil 
to  elevate  and  depress  it  at  will.     Dired  the  adion  with  your  hand 

V/hen  you  raise  your  hand  let  him  raise  the  palate  (Cut  A),  and 
keep  It  elevated  till  you  give  the  signal  for  depression   (Cut  B). 


(Cut  B. )» 
•These  cuts  are  reproduceJ  from  "  Voice,  S.,1,1:,  and  Sneech." 


Then  let  him  keep  it  depressed  wjlh.tiii  motion,  till  yoii  dirt  i  liim 
to  niise  it.  Control  myr  the  ro,iit  oA^.n/v  is  i>,i/iit\t  not  so  tiituli  hv 
mcrviiii^  tlicm  jv  In-  /urp/iij^  tlum  still.  Keep  the  soft  pahite  de- 
pressed ;ind  still  (or  a  lotig  period  of  time,  and  then  raised  for  an 
equal  length  of  time.  Do  this  at  first  silentlv.  and  then  .ifterw.irds 
with  voice.  Klevate  and  depress  the  pal.ite  uilhoci  stopping  the 
voice  hi'*  retain  the  elevated  or  depressed  position  for  a  consi  ierabie 
period  of  time. 

When  your  pupil  cm  do  this  without  looking  in  the  mirror  you 
may  usefully  vary  the  exercise  by  requiring  him  to  raise  or  dcpres> 
the  palate  while  .it  the  same  time  he  prolongs  a  vowel  sound.  (I"or 
example:  ah  or  <v  or  o.)  Then  let  him  rattle  otf  a  series  of  vowels 
without  stopping  the  voice,  (l-or  e.xample:  ah  ,v  o  ,r.-  ,;/,  ,v  o  ce, 
etc.).  elevating  or  depressing  the  p.ilate  as  you  direct.  .As  the  ulti- 
mate object  to  be  gained  is  ability  to  retain  the  soft  p.ilate  in  the 
elevated  position  continuously  during  speech,  there  should  be  no 
rapid  alternations  of  elevation  and  depression.  He  should  repeat 
the  series  of  vowels  many  times  in  succession  with  the  .soft  palate 
raised,  and  many  times  with  it  depressed,  but  the  voice  should  not 
be  stopped  excepting  when  it  becomes  advisable  to  take  brtath. 

The  uvula,  the  pendulous  extremity  of  the  sott  palate,  seems 
to  have  no  speci.il  function  in  speech,  at  le.ist  in  the  Hng'ish  lan- 
guage, and  I  have  known  of  cases  where  it  has  been  excised 
without  intertcring  with  articulation.  In  teaching  the  deal,  however, 
the  uvula  may  be  found  of  use  as  an  index  to  the  pitch  of  the  voice. 
A  pupil  may.  perhaps,  be  made  conscious  of  changes  in  the  pitch 
of  the  voice,  by  directing  his  atteniion  to  ch.inges  that  simultan- 
eously occur  in  the  length  of  the  uvula.  In  most  cases,  the  uvula 
hangs  loosely  down  during  the  produdion  of  low  tones  and  shrinks 
in  size  as  the  pitch  of  the  voice  is  raised,  (See  Cuts  A.  and  B. » 
When  the  pitch  is  very  high  the  uvula  shrinks  up  to  such  an  extent 
that  it  almost  disappears  (Cut  C,  page  24.)  While  this  rule  is  not 
invariable,  the  effect  is  so  commonly  produced,  as  at  le.ist  to  be 
worthy  o."  note. 

Every  change  in  the  shape  of  the  pas.sage-way,  through  which 
the  voice  is  passed,  occasions  a  cor. spending  change  in  the  quality 
of  the  voice,  and  I  have  pointed  out  the  cau.scs  of  certain  disagree- 
able effeas.  In  order  to  render  the  voice  sweet  and  plea.sant  to  the 
ear,  it  is  necessary  that  the  soft  palate  should  be  raised  into  contact 
with  liie  back  of  the  pharynx,  and  that  the  whole  cavity  of  the 


'.^'  •**-.:¥■ 


-24 

pharynx  should  Iv  expanded,  so  that  .he  pHSsage-w^y  there  should 

The    mouth    P;lss;l£re     ikn     ifr.>,-K-    ♦!,.         • 

produced  bv  the  .aion  ,.(  the  tonj,n.e  and  lips,  occasion  ch.nces  o 
-welcuaiuy.   In  sin,i„,  different  vowel  sounds  the  vo"e  m  y'^  v 

he      r.  VoweJ  differences,  therefore,  are  differences  in  the  quality  or 
mhre  o   the  vo.ce;  and  vowels  themselves  are  in  reality  ,»./,^W 

'!/  ro,.e  to  which  we  have  given  specific  names,  and  wh    h  w 

employ  as  elements  of  speech. 

'  ;;«  ":>'  P'-«P«>'^-  «o-J^.y  to  enter  into  any  detailed  description 
of  he  posmons  assunu.d  by  the  tongue  and  lips,  during  the  produc- 
t'oo  of  vowel  sounds,  as  most  of  you.  .  know,  are  familiar  wl  he 


te.  fe,  1 .1-8 

(Cut  C).* 
subjea      I  shall  rather  attempt  to  show  you  why  it  is  thit  chan«r^, 
-n  the  shape  of  the  cavities  of  the  mou  h,  pharynx  ecoccasfon 
changes  m  the  quality  of  the  voice.  '         "°" 

When  we  prolong  a  vowel  sound  without  varying  the  pitch  of 
the  vo.ce.  the  effed  produced  upon  the  ear  is  not  simply   ha    of  a 

the  oth  rs  ttt      [         ■         K     ''"'  '""''  '^  ^°  '""'^h  '""''^^  than 

a  ion      The  o^'r  ""'"''     '  "''''''''  ''''''''  ''  ''''  ^'^^''^  ^o-bi- 
ki  !^'  !  *"""'  '""■"■  ''°  '■^^b'y  produced,  that  it  takes  •. 

skilled   ear  to  recognize  them  as  musical  effeds     t     II    15  !k 

so"  n7    W^  ""'"^  P""''^^^  ^^^^  -  ^'^^  c,uan  y  o; 'tii^'b^e  of   he' 

"ng  t^  Pitch'  o"fT'"  °'  ^°"^'  '^^^  ^""^  sui;cessively  wUho 
jyr^gthc  pitch  of  the  voice,  a  trained  ear  readily  perceives  that 

•This  cut  is  reproduced  from  ■'  Voir.-,  Snng,  and  Speccii.^^ 


35 


the  partial  tones  change  in  pitch  with  every  change  of  vowel  cffed. 
The  loud  fundamcnti.!  is  due  to  the  viliratioii  of  the  vocal  cords,  and 
the  "  partial  tones  "  are  caused  by  the  resonance  of  the  air  in  the 
cavities  of  the  mouth. 

"  What  do  you  mean  by  '  the  resonance  of  the  air  in  the  cavities 
of  the  mouth  ?•'"  I  fancv  some  of  you  ask.  In  order  to  answer 
this  question  I  have  brought  a  few  empty  bottles  from  tbe  dining- 
rooir  t.ible  nul  from  the  kitchen  of  the  hotel.  Here  we  h;.ve  a  pep- 
per-pot a  pickle-bottle,  a  must.ird-pot,  a  vinegar-bottle  from  the 
cruet-.stand,  and  a  few  other  bottles  of  ditfercnt  shapes  and  sizes. 
Now  let  me  blow  into  the  mouth  of  one  of  these  bottles.  At  once 
you  hear  a  musical  tone  something  like  that  produced  by  an  organ 
pipe.  I  shall  now  blow  into  the  mouths  of  the  others.  You  observe 
that  each  bottle  has  a  resonance  tor.r  of  its  own.  In  some  cases  the 
pitch  is  high,  in  otheis  low.  Observe  the  pitch  of  the  bottle  I  hold 
in  my  hand.  I  shall  now  pour  in  a  littie  water  so  as  to  reduce  the 
air  space  within.  The  bottle  produces  a  tone  of  higher  pitch  than 
it  did  before.  I  pour  in  a  little  more  water  and  again  the  pitch  rises. 
In  fad,  the  si.ialler  the  cavity  is  made  the  higher  does  the  pitch 
become.  Now  you  have  in  your  mouth  a  bottle-shaped  cavity,  and 
in  this  case  also  the  air  within  has  a  tendency  to  vibrate  at  a 
definite  rate  so  as  to  produce  a  musical  tone.  When  the  size  of 
the  cavity  is  reduced  by  elevating  the  tongue  and  bringing  it  further 
forward  in  the  mouth,  the  pitch  becomes  higher,  just  as  the  tone 
produced  by  the  bottle  rose  in  pitch  when  I  poured  in  water.  I  am 
afraid  }  i  would  h-.rdly  like  me  to  demonstrate  the  truth  of  this 
statement  by  blowing  into  your  mouth  as  I  did  into  the  bottle!  If 
you  are  anxious  to  make  the  experiment  you  can  blow  into  your 
own  mouth  with  a  pair  of  bellows!  A  still  simpler  way,  however, 
of  testing  the  efTed  is  to  blow  air  through  the  inouth  from  the 
lungs.  For  example :  whistle.  The  pitch  of  the  whistle  rises  as 
the  tongue  is  advanced  in  the  mouth. 

Let  me  dired  your  attention  once  more  to  the  bottle.  The  pitch 
rose  when  I  poured  in  water,  and  of  course  1  can  lower  it  again,  if 
I  choose,  by  pouring  out  the  water.  Instead  of  doing  this,  however, 
I  shall  change  the  pitch  in  another  way,  without  varying  the  size  of 
the  air  space  within.  While  I  blow  into  the  bottle  I  shall  gradually 
cover  its  mouth  with  my  hand.  The  tone,  you  observe,  falls  in 
pitch  as  the  orifice  is  reduced.  You  see  from  this  that  you  can  vary 
the  pitch;  (i)  by  varying  the  size  of  the  cavity,  and  (2)  by  chang- 
ing the  size  of  the  opening  into  it.  Allow  me  to  illustrate  these  two 
ways  with  my  mouth. 


■•B..ck  ,,:.':    "^ ''■">"  Vi«iN.  Sp„d,  »,.,„,,„, 

"d^mcc,  M  ,;:2::,,  ^'^ '"""  ""^'  --' ^  -  .i--  -...„„.. , 

as  the  lal)i.,l  aperture  is  re  Juced  '  ''"'''  '•'"'' 

^*.  belt  i^;: :':;;;''";';:'"  ^»'"  <-''•"  -  p""'--  r..,,™,, 

vowei  00  in  the  word  foo  ts  "T;""      ''  ^"'  ^'''  ^"'^'  ''^^• 

liDS  is  sn  ^..    ■•        .  '•'■''■^  ''^'-'  •'P^''ture  between  tiie 

0     h    to"    :;       ''    "  P"^-^'"'  ^^'^  P"P"  f^"m  observing  the  po  '.  n 

-e  ^.uon..e:::•  i^t  ^d  t:f:::^::t;- f -'^ -^^ 

mat.on  to  the  erred  sound  "  '^'-  •''^''"'"•^'- 

Children  Who  ^.ve  th^^^l^ j^^^  :^r::::ii,/:;  :'^ 

then  modify  it  by  rouX  the  L  "'"  '"^'"^  '''  ''''''•  ^'"'^ 
Round  the  lips  aL  you  "te  //  'a  ,  ^  ""^^""  ^''^'^  ^^■""^'"  ^^'• 
all  practical  purposes  thin        /^^^'^  ^«'"  ""^  yo"  have  oo.     For 

When  the  two  eTem  nt     r  >      ''  ,  '   '""'''''''   ""^^'^■^"  ^'^^  -• 

effeft      If  th.  f  '^  ''"^"'''  I'^s'^'o"  'destroys  the  oo 

v..  fai.  .0  produce  a  ,o„d  L  „.e„  .K^llt'-rr^d  t 


voice  is  souiuicJ.  in  sucli  c.isis  the  pitih  nl  the  ricrm.in  i  h  will 
Ii'il  you  tl)c  nature  of  the  ddict.  .iiiJ  how  tnu'imdv  ii.  ll  the  pitih 
IS  too  hij^h  the  toii^'Uv-  is  too  l.ir  lotwaivi;  if  it  is  Iom  low  tiie  toii^me 
is  too  f.ir  Kuk.  You  i.in  ol't.iiii  yuur  st.iiiJ.ird  fur  comp.irison  in 
the  lollowinj,'  w;iy  :  Pronounce  .1  yootl  oi>.  Convert  it  into  :*//  iiy 
substituting  breath  for  voice,  and  then  loi.e  your  lips  .ipart  so  a>  to 
obtain  the  elTect  of  the  lingual  position  alone.  Observe  the  pitch  i>t 
the  German  (//  thus  produced.  If  the  pitch  o'  the  sound  produced 
by  your  pupil  is  higher  than  tiiis,  direct  him  to  pi.ico  the  ton.i^ue 
further  back;  and  if  it  is  lower,  tell  him  to  briii^'  the  tonj;ue  forw.ird. 

The  pilch  of  the  mouth  t:.in  be  bi ought  out  by  other  me.ins 
than  by  blowing  air  into  or  through  the  cavity.  Reson.mce  is  c.iused 
whenever  a  .sound  of  similar  pitch  is  produced  in  the  nelghborlu/od. 
For  example:  Here  is  a  tuning  fork,  and  upon  tiie  t.ible  is  a  bottle 
which  has  tne  same  pitch.  I  hold  the  vibrating  prongs  of  the  loik 
over  the  mouth  of  the  bottle,  and  .it  once  its  re.son.mce  tone  is  loudly 
evoked.  Here  is  another  bottle,  but  it  remains  silent  when  the  lork 
is  ;'pulied.  Upon  blowing  into  it  you  perceive  that  tiie  pitch  is  too 
low.  Let  me  tune  it  by  pouring  in  water.  It  siill  f.iils  to  respond— 
the  pitch  is  now  too  high.  Upon  pouring  out  a  little  w.iter  the  bot- 
tle resounds,  but  very  faintly,  it  has  almost  the  same  pitch  as  the 
fork — but  is  still  a  little  too  high.  I  pour  out  a  few  more  drops,  and 
now  you  hear  the  full  and  loud  response  made  when  the  fork  's  ap- 
plied. Let  me  hold  the  fork  in  front  of  my  lips  while  my  mouth  is  ,ie 
position  of  'u.li.  You  have  no  response,  because  the  proper  tone  of 
the  mouth  cavity  is  ditTerent  from  that  of  the  fork.  Upon  tuning 
the  cavity  by  shifting  the  position  of  the  tongue,  the  mouth  resounds 
as  the  bottle  did  a  few  moments  ago. 

In  these  cases  you  have  resonance  produced  by  "sympathetic 
vibration."  If  you  have  in  the  same  neighborhood  two  bodies  that 
tend  to  vibrate  at  the  .same  rate,  seC  the  one  vibrating  and  the  other 
vibrates  of  itself — out  of  "sympathy"  as  it  were!  I  shall  show  you 
another  case.  Here  we  have  a  piano.  I  shall  depress  the  pedal  so 
as  to  release  all  the  strings,  and  then  sing  into  the  instrument.  When 
1  stop  singing  you  will  observe  that  the  piano  echoes  my  voice. 
That  string  of  the  piano  that  had  the  same  pitch  as  my  voice  was 
set  sympathetically  into  vibration.  A  similar  effect  is  produced  in 
the  case  of  vibrations  which  are  too  slow  to  produce  the  sensation 
of  sound.  For  example:  If  two  clocks  having  pendulums  of 
simiLr  length  are  attached  to  the  same  wall  you  need  only  set 
one  of  them  going,  for  by  and  by  the  other  will  go  by  itself.     Of 


■  F  -1 


48 

'it.1^  w,.v  ,.u,  ..,:„:  .X  ,f;:^ ;  *= :-"« ■--  ^--d  a 

'orw.rcf,  at  a  definite     .te    ,^  "'  ^'^^"^-''^^   ^'nd 

'"Jccd.  wore  it    o     .   ,      i  ':      /'"''  "'"^"  "^•'"^^'  "  ^^"^"  ^^  ^-t- 
stop  .,t  ..II       nm      woU   T  '     ■  '"''''"^'''  "'■  ''''  '"  "  ^""'^'"t 

'he  effect  of  a  single  push  is  ret  .in',  t  M     '  '  '""""'''  ''^*"'^' 

'hen.  you  push  tt  ^ t^  "  ^^  t""  '"''"■  """'""^-  "^ 
■nc-scd.  Very  .i«,.  1.:;^"^  i  e  tr^L'T^  "'7"'"? 
swing  into  lull  vihrition   if  .h     •         ,  "    ''  '"  ^"'  *^« 

^.ve  .shove    :;,d.^e,;  rth'"?";"'^  T  '''''  "^  "^'^  ^— 

'"^J'vidual  impulses  are  s|i«ht  '    If    h     ,h     ^  ^         '"'"  '^""^'^  '^« 
time  that  is   uh.n,  ,h  '''''''*'  "  «'^'-""  ''^  'he  wrong 

'»<..  mat  IS,  when  the  swing  is  moving  on  its  hickwini  n,.h   »k 

every  impulse  tends  to  stop  the  vibr.ti  F.rh         k    '      i      '" 

motion  to  a  certain  extent    ml  ^ '"''  '"^''"^^  '^^^ 

bring  the  swing  rprev.mT  V^  '''''  ""P"'^"  -'" 
stops  it  in  time  if  vou  Lav  "  .re'  Th  '''T^  ''  ''''  *'^ 
svmg  at  the  wrong  time  u  eacl^v  br.Ln  '"'v'"  ''''■''''  ''''^"  ^'^ 
-././  /.«...  and  the  conveL     Llw  I    H         T   '!  ''"''  '''  '^'^ 

the  strings  of  th^^i  ':x^::::::'';;ri'':  t^^-  ^-'^  ^" 

•hem  all  swinging   luit  the   T-^  u  '^'■''  '^^^'^  ^^^^'^^^ 

-turnpathand^    p         heVmoIn^Th     '"'''  "''''"'  ''"  ''' 


V-^s 


a^ 


ccntinuei  in  vibration  jftcr  vou  stop  pt  '.in>.'  ii  The  same  kind  ol 
aition  took  place  when  the  tuning  fork  w.in  htid  over  a  bottle  of 
similar  pitch  to  its  own.  At  i-ach  descent  of  the  prung  the  .lir  in 
the  bottle  received  a  shove;  .md  the  .nr  w.is  thus  set  into  vibration, 
u  you  set  a  swing  into  vibration  by  the  hand. 

A  similar  adlion  took  place  when  I  held  the  vibr.itinK'  fork  in 
front  of  my  lips.  At  first  no  sound  was  produced.  bu»  a  hen  I 
shifted  the  position  of  the  tongue,  so  as  to  tunc  the  mouth-cavity 
to  the  pitch  of  the  fork,  resonance  resulted,  and  you  all  heard  the 
effed.  I  have  no  doubt  that  the  Scotchm.in  with  the  aitiiici.il 
larynx  could  have  produced  the  s.ime  etTeit,  if  lie  had  slipped  a 
tuning-fork  into  his  throat  in  place  of  the  harmonium  reed.  Itnagine 
a  multitude  of  tuning-forks  of  different  pitch  to  be  missed  together 
i  I  front  of  the  mouth  and  all  simultaneously  to  be  set  in  vibration. 
It  should  then  be  possible,  by  shifting  the  position  of  the  t'  ..guc.  to 
reinforce  the  tone— now  of  one  fork,  now  of  mother— at  will. 
Indeed  under  such  circum.stances,  it  would  hardly  be  possible  to 
assume  a  position  of  the  mouth,  that  would  not  reinforce  some 
fork— at  least  in  a  greater  or  less  degree.  Imagine  the  mass  of  tun- 
ing-forks to  be  placed  in  the  Scotchman's  throat,  and  similar  effects 
would  result. 

Now  the  vocal  cords  like  the  hypothetical  torks,  produce  a 
number  of  feeble  tones  of  different  pitch;  when  we  pronounce  a 
vowel  sound,  the  mouth  cavity  reinforces,  bv  resonance,  that  "  par- 
tial tone  "  of  the  voice  which  is  nearest  in  pitch,  to  the  proper  tone 
of  the  cavity.  The  effect  produced  we  call  the  '  vowel  quality." 
The  loud  fundament.il  tone  of  the  voice,  so  distracts  the  ittention  of 
the  untrained  observer,  that  he  finds  ditFiculty  at  lirst  in  hearing  the 
resonance  tone  produced  by  the  mouth.  The  best  way  to  train  the 
ea-  is  to  commence  by  observing  the  pit.  hes  of  non-vocal  sounds. 
Then  listen  for  similar  effeds  when  the  voice  is  sounded. 

If  you  whisper  the  vowels  ah,  au\  oh.  60.  1  think  you  will  have 
little  difficulty  in  recognizing  the  faa  that  the  pitch  of  the  whisper 
falls  as  the  lips  are  approximated.  More  dilFiculty  will  be  experi- 
er.ced  in  determining  the  relative  pitches  of  other  vowels.  For 
example:  whisper  the  vowels  in  the  words  <•</,  ///,  a/e.  ell  and 
Shalt.  The  pitch  changes  with  each  vowel,  but  how  docs  it  change  r 
I  atternpted  to  determine  ihe  point  a  ^ood  minv  years  af,'o,  and 
came  ;c  the  conclusion  th.it  the  vowels  termed  .1  descending  iiiu.sical 
scale,  ei  naving  the  highest,  and  .'  the  lowest  pitch.  To  my  surprise. 
however,  mv  father  was  un.ihle  to  agree  with  iiie  in  this  result.     To 


3'J 

hi.  car  the  vowels  formed  nn  ascending  series.  ..  having  the  lowest, 
and  .,  the  highest  p.tch.  The  f.a  is.  we  were  both  right,  for  thes 
vowe  s  have  a  double  resonance.  The  passage-way  for  the  voice 
extends  from  tiie  vocal  cords  to  the  lips,  and  if  you  constrift  it  at 
any  pomt  you  divide  it  into  two  parts  forming  bottle-shaped  cavi- 
ties placed  neck  to  neck.  (See  diagram,  Fig.  3.)  There  is  a  cavity 
■n  front  of  the  point  of  constriction  and  another  behind  it 


In  forming  ee.  the  front  cavity  is  very  small,  and  the  pitch  con- 
sequently h,gh;  but  the  back  cavity  is  low  in   pitch,  because  it 
possesses  an  extremely  narrow  neck  at  the  point  of  constridion 
In  pronouncmg  the  other  vowels  of  the  series  mentioned,  the  fronl 
cavity  increases  in  size.  and.  therefore,  falls  in  pitch;  but  the  pitch 
of  the  back  cavtiy  rises  because  the  neck  at  the  point  of  constric 
tion  IS  .-nlarged.     I  can  demonstrate  the  double  resonance  of  these 
vowels  by  a  simple   experiment.     I  shall  hold  the  side  of  a  lead 
pencil  against  my  cheek,  and  tap  it  forcibly  with  my  thumb  nail  so 
as  to  agitate  the  air  in  the  front  cavity,  while  I  wl-sper  the  vowels 
•  e-,  >  ,  c\  a.     You  perceive  at  once  a  descending  series  of  sounds 
in  which  ec  IS  the  highest,  and  d  the  lowest  pitch.     |  shall  now  hold 
the   pencil  against  my  throat  so  that  each  tap  M,av  agitate  the  air  in 
the  back  cavity.     Upon  whispering  the  same  vowels,  the  taps  pro- 
duce an   ascending  series,  ,v  having  the   lowest  pitch  and  „■  the 
highest.     The  effect  is  improved  by  closing  the  glottis  so  as  to  con- 
vert the  back  cavity  into  a  bottle  closed  at  the  bottom.     The   front 
cavity  also  yields  a  much  louder  e.fed  if  it  is  shut  off  completely 
from  the  back  cavity,  by  allowing  the  soft  palate  to  fall  into  contad 
with   the   back   of  the  tongue   {ng  position).     In   these   cases   of 
course,  the  vowel  positions  must  be  silently  assumed      When    we 
pronounce   these  vowels  aloud,  feeble  -{vutial  tones-.- due  to  the 


fP 


3« 


the  back  .iiid  tiont  cavitie 


if  tlie  mouth, 


resonance  u(  tlic  aii 

mingle  with  the  tone  of  the  voice,  and  produce  in  our  ears  the 

sensation  of  "vowel  quality." 

Helmholtz  has  not  only  resolved  vowels,  by  a  process  of  an.ily- 
sis.  into  their  constituent  musical  elements,  but  has  produced  vowel 
sounds  artificially  by  a  synthetical  process,  in  place  of  voice,  he 
caused  a  tuning  fork  to  vibrate  continuously  in  front  of  a  tuned 
bottle  or  "  resonator."  thus  producing  a  loud  musical  tone.  He  then 
selected  two  forks  having  the  pitches  of  the  partial  tones  he  had 
recognized  as  characteristic  of  the  vowel  tr.  One  was  very  high, 
and  the  other  low.  (They  represented,  indeed,  the  front  and  back 
cavities  of  the  mouth  in  forming  tl  c  vowel.)  These  forks  were  then 
placed  in  front  of  bottles,  tuned  almost  but  not  quite  to  their  own 
pitch,  so  that  the  sounds  produced  should  be  very  faint.  The  simul- 
taneous vibration  of  the  three  forks  in  front  of  their  respeftive 
resonators,  or  bottles,  produced  one  loud  sound,  and  two  feeble 
partial  tones.     The  effed  upon  the  ear  was  that  of  the  vowel  <v. 

Those  of  you  who  desire  to  pursue  this  subjeft  further,  i.iay 
consult  a  paper  of  mine  upon  "Vowel  Theories,"  which  was  read 
before  the  National  Academy  of  Sciences,  April  15,  1879,  and  was 
published  in  th'i  Journal  0/  Otology,  Vol.  1,  July,  1879.  This  paper  is 
printed  as  an  Appendix  in  this  volume. 

Dr.  Bell:  Prof.  Gordon  has  received  a  communication  from 
Prof.  Samuel  Porter  of  Gallaudet  College,  Washington,  D.  C,  a  gen- 
tleman who  knows  about  as  much  about  the  mechanism  of  speech 
as  any  man  living.  I  am  sure  that  we  all  regret  Prof.  Porter's  ab- 
sence from  this  meeting,  and  shall  be  glad  to  hear  Prof.  Gordon  read 
the  communication  which  he  will  now  do: 

Farmin'gton,  Conn.,  June  50,  i8gi. 
My  Diar  Friind:  1  notice  that  Dr.  Bell  is  to  lecture  on  the  Funclions  of  the  Phar- 
ynx in  Speecli.  I  should  like  to  know  what  he  wouM  have  to  say  about  that.  My  idea 
is,  that  it  is  quite  common  to  misapprehend  by  regardinp  tlie  pharynx  too  much  as  if 
absolutely  separated  from  the  nioulh.  In  fa;^,  when  the  soft  palate  is  raised  in  non-nasal 
utterance,  the  pharynx  and  the  mouth  are  better  regarded  as  topether  forming  a  single 
cavity.  Thtre  is  no  line  of  separation  across  the  tongue,  and  nothing  wliatever  as  a  line 
of  deniartatior.,  except  liie  posterii>r  pillars  of  the  fauces,  which  in  each  case  .almost  lose 
themselves  in  the  w.ilK  of  the  p.is.sagc.  The  pharynx  comes  into  importance,  if  we  re- 
gard, as  I  do,  the  a  (ah)  vowel  as  made  with  the  place  of  constnc^ion  against  the  back 
wall'of  th  ■  phaivnx,  thus  giving  this  vowel  a  place  to  tlie  rear  of  the  proper  "b.ick 
vowels,"  jte,  0,  CO,  etc.,  which  have  the  place  of  constridion  in  the  soft  palate.  Bell 
might  symboli/e  it  by  an  adiiilioiul  turn  (  ).  This  relieves  Bell  and  Sweet  from  the 
vacillation  and  diversity  in  the  place  assigned  by  them  to  this  vowel.  The  pharynx  Sets 
together  with  the  cheeks  and  the  soft  palate  in  producing,  by  their  elastic  reaction,  the 
explosion  of  a  p,  and,  without  the  cliecks,  of  a  /,  and,  by  itself  alone,  of  a  *.  1  imagine 
also  that  the  pharynx  acts,  together  with  the  soi't  palate,  as  a  cusliion,  and  may  tlius  be 
made  to  affeft  the  ring  of  the  voice  or  quality  of  tone,  giving  it  somttinies  soilness,  and 
sometimes  sononty  in  the  "oiotuuJ''  quality,  etc. 

Yours  truly, 

Ni-!.:-.".!  S.W.LEL  PoRTtB 


THE  FUNCTIONS  OF  THE  EPIGLOTTIS  AND 
SOFT  PALATE. 


The  instrument  of  speech  consists  essentially  of  a  colleftion  of 
tubes  or  passage-ways  conneaed  together  somewhat  as  shown  in 
the  following  crude  diagram,  which  I  have  found  of  assisunce  in 
explaining  to  pupils  the  functions  of  the  epiglottis  and  soft  palate. 
(See  Fig.  4.) 


Fig.  4. 
Diaeram  illustrating  the  adion  of  the  epiglottis  ( k )  and  soft  palate  (n). 

32 


-«i.w4*-  fti  i«A  *  1BM#^  • 


33 


li^;.   ;.     Kc-y  to  >liagr.ini,  Fi«.  4. 

There  are  three  entrances  i.no  the  vocal  organs;  a,  the  r.iOUth, 
and  b,  c,  the  nostrils.  Followir.,<T  these  passages  downwards  we 
find  they  unite  in  one  passage,  d,  the  pharynx.  Below  this  point 
the  passage-way  splits  up  into  two  tubes,  e,  f,  the  aesophagus  and 
the  windpipe.  The  windpipe,  f,  bifurcates  lower  down  into  the 
bronchial  tubes,  g,  h.  These  in  their  turn  split  up  into  multitudi- 
nous smaller  tubes,  ramifying  through  the  lungs.  The  esophagus, 
e,  passes  downwards  between  the  bronchial  tubes,  g,  h,  through 
an  aperture  in  the  diaphragm,  i,  into  the  stomach. 

In  this  apparatus  we  find  two  valves  one,  k,  (the  epiglottis) 
hinged  at  1.  and  capable  of  shutting  against  m.  The  other,  n,  (the 
soft  palate),  hinged  at  o,  and  capable  of  shutting  against  p, 
and  q. 

These  valves  are  largely  for  the  protection  of  the  lungs.  We 
all  know  how  important  it  is  that  foreign  bodies  should  be  kept  out 
of  the  lungs.  The  New  York  doctor  who  recently  inhaled  a  cork 
has  died,  in  spite  of  all  that  science  could  do  to  aid  him.  Equally 
serious  results  might  follow  were  particles  of  food  to  find  their  .  y 
into  the  lungs. 


34 

The  pharynx,  d,  forms  a  common  passage-way  through  which 
both  food  and  air  pass,  and  the  valves,  k,  n,  prevent  the  passage  of 
food  into  the  wind-pipe,  and  permit  breathing  to  take  place  with 
safety  during  the  process  of  mastication.     If  we  were  obliged  to 
breathe  through  the  mouth-passage,  a,  while  the  mouth  contains 
partly  masticated  food,  it  would  be  almost  impossible  to  prevent 
particles  from  being  drawn  into  the  lungs  with  the  breath.     The 
valve,  n  (the  soft  palate),  obviates  such  a  catastrophe  by  shutting  in 
the  contents  of  the  mouth  during  the  process  of  mastication,  by 
closing  against  p  (the  back  of  the  tongue),   as  shown  by  dotted 
lines.      Breathing  can  be  carried  on  safely  behind  the  soft  palate 
through  the  nasal  passages,  b,  c.     When,  however,  the  process  of 
mastication  is  completed,  a  new  danger  threatens  the  lungs.     The 
food,  on  its  way  to  the  stomach  through  the  esophagus,  e,  must 
pass  the  upper  end  of  the  wind-pipe,  f.   The  valve,  k,  (the  epiglottis), 
closes  tightly  against  m  during  the  aft  of  swallowing,  and  thus 
prevents  the  possibility  of  food  obtaining  access  to  the  wrong  pas- 
sage-way.     The  larynx  constitutes  a  sort  of  box  on  top  of  the 
wind-pipe,  of  which  the  epiglottis  k,  forms  the  lid.     In  the  diagram, 
I  have  represented  the  lid  as  shutting  down  on  the  top  of  the  box, 
but  in  the  adual  instiuinent  of  speech  the  box  also  shuti  up  against 
the  lid.     Place  your  hand  against  your  throat,  and  you  can  feel  the 
larynx  rise  when  you  make  the  aft  of  swallowing.     In  speech,  the 
soft  palate,  n,  is  used  for  the  purpose  of  direding  the  breath  through 
the  mouth  or  nasal  passages,  as  desired.     When  it  shuts  against  p, 
( the  back  of  the  tongue),  air  from  the  lungs  passes  up  behind  it 
through  the  nasal  passages,  b,  c,  and  no  air  can  escape  through  the 
mouth,  a.     When  it  shuts  against  q,  (the  back  of  the  pharynx),  air 
from  the  lungs  passes  in  front  of  it,  through  the  mouth,  a,  and  no 
air  escapes  through  the  nasal  passages,  b,  c.     When  it  hangs  half 
way  down,  as  shown  in  the  position  o,  n,  air  from  the  lungs  escapes 
through  all  three  passages,  a,  b,  c,  simultaneously 


s 


METHODS   OF    STUDYING    THE    MECHANISM  OF  SPEECH. 

I  have  already  direfted  your  attention  to  the  faft  that  many 
words,  and  even  sentences,  may  be  pronounced  during  a  single 
effort  of  expiration.  The  muscles  concerned  in  expiration  produce  a 
continuous,  steady  pressure  upon  the  air  in  the  thorax,  during  the 
aft  of  speech.  In  faft,  we  play  upon  the  instrument  of  spech  as 
the  piper  plays  upon  the  bagpipe.    The  piper's  arm  continuously 


3S 


3 


squeezes  the  bag  all  the  time  he  ;s  playing.  He  does  not  jerk  his 
arm  in  time  to  the  music.  A  continuous,  steady  pressure  exists  all 
the  time  his  fingers  are  moving.  When  an  amateur  tries  to  play 
upon  the  bagpipe  for  the  first  time,  he  is  apt  to  give  a  fresh  squeeze 
for  every  note,  producing  an  effed  somev^liat  like  the  jerky  utter- 
ance of  deaf  children  who  have  been  taught  word-by-word 
articulation. 

When  children  are  taught  at  first  to  pronounce  each  word  by 
itself,  with  a  distind  and  separate  effort  of  emission,  an  intermittent 
action  of  the  abdominal  muscles  is  apt  to  become  habitual,  even  in 
rapid  utterance. 

We  have  had  the  opportunity  of  listening  to  pupils  from  Mil- 
waukee, Boston,  and  Philadelphia,  arid  I  have  been  delighted  to 
observe  that  they  do  not  exhibit  this  fault.  Whatever  defects  of 
speech  they  possess,  they  do  not  exhibit  the  fundamental  error  of 
word-by-word,  syllable-by-syllab!e  articulation.  I  would  certainly 
recommend  to  your  notice  the  exercises  that  have  been  so  success- 
ful in  producing  continuity  of  utterance  in  their  cases. 

The  material  from  which  speech  is  made,  is  a  store  of  com- 
pressed air  within  the  thorax,  which  is  let  out  little  by  little,  in  a 
continuous,  steady  stream,  and  moulded  into  the  various  sounds  of 
speech.  No  compression  is  possible  unless  the  escape  of  air  is 
restrained.  In  order  that  we  should  have  a  continuous,  steady 
stream,  it  is  necessary  that  emission  should  take  place  through 
only  a  very  fine  orifice.  You  all  probably  know  the  effeft  of  restrain- 
ing the  emission  of  fluid  from  a  pipe,  under  pressure,  if  you 
haven't  made  the  experiment,  partially  plug  the  orifice  of  a  faucet 
with  your  finger,  while  the  water  is  running.  At  once  the  slow, 
silent  stream,  is  converted  into  a  rushing  torrent,  which  spurts  out 
with  great  noise.  Instead  of  a  large  quantity  of  water  coming  out 
slowly,  you  have  a  small  quantity  rushing  out  quickly.  Instead  of  a 
silent  flow  you  have  noise.  In  the  produftion  of  noise  a  little 
water  goes  a  great  way,  and  a  steady  stream  can  be  sustained  for  a 
long  period  of  time,  without  the  expenditure  of  much  fluid. 

In  a  similar  manner,  noise  is  produced  by  partially  plugging  the 
air-passage  from  the  lungs ;  and  all  the  elements  of  speech  result 
from  constridions  of  some  kind.  In  studying  the  mechanism  of 
speech-sounds,  therefore,  it  is  necessary  to  determine  the  location 
and  nature  of  those  constridions  that  produce  and  modify  the 
sounds. 


J6 

Now  how  nre  you  going  to  describe  a  constriaion  ?  Mv  father 
has  pointed  out  that  the  principal  organs  concerned  in  the  produc- 
tion of  speech,  naturally  group  themselves  into  two  classes,  adive 
and  passive.  As  a  general  rule,  the  lower  organs  are  adive  and  the 
upper  passive.  For  example:  In  forming  the  sound  of  /.  the  point 
of  the  tongue  is  the  adive  agent  involved,  and  the  upper  gum  is  the 
passive.  In  this  case  the  two  organs  are  approximated  together  in 
such  a  manner  as  to  completely  close  the  passage-way  between 
them, 

lr\ describing  other  constriaions  also,  it  is  usual  to  designate:— 
(a)    The  aftive  organ  employed ; 
(*)    The  passive  organ ;  and 

{c)    The  condition  of  the  passage-way  between  them. 
Whether  or  not  we  adopt  my  fathers  classification  into  adive 
and  passive  organs,  it  is  certainly  the  case  that  we  are  obliged   in 
defining  accurately  the  location  and  nature  of  a  constriftion.  to  dis- 
tinguish three  associated  elements,  viz:— 

j  ^  Two  organs  which  are  approximated  together;  and 
(c)  The  condition  of  the  passage-way  between  them. 
A  constriaion  is  usually  termed  "a  position  of  the  vocal 
organs."  When  two  or  more  positions  of  the  vocal  organs  are 
simultaneously  assumed,  the  effea  upon  the  ear  is  that  of  a  single 
sound.  In  such  a  case  the  passage-way  is  constriaed  at  more  than 
one  point  at  the  same  time.     For  example:  Take  the  vowel  oo   in 

Jd*"  V  Z"""^  ^^  ^'^'    '"  '°'''"'"*'  ^^'^  '°""''  ^^"■"  d'stina  positions 
(Pi  r,  P  ,)  are  simultaneously  assumed.     (See  Fig.  6.) 


P.     A  labial  position. 

The  two  organs  ? 

Passage-way  between  ? 
P.    A  lingual  position. 

The  two  organs  ? 

Passage-way  between  ? 

P.     A  laryngeal  position. 
The  two  organs  ? 
Passage-way  between  ? 


The  under  lip. 
The  upper  lip. 

A  s.nall  central  aperture. 


j  a'  The  back  of  the  tongue. 
I  b'  The  soft  palate. 

c'  A  small  central  aperture. 

j  jj»  The  two  vocal  cords, 
c'   A  slit- like  aperture. 


)1 


I 


fc--  -- 


Fig.  6.  Positions  of  the  vocal  organs  in  forming  the  vowel  m  in  "  too."  In  this 
diagram  a  side  view  of  the  mouth  is  given  in  seAlon,  but  a  front  view  of  the  larynx  so 
as  to  show  both  of  the  vocal  cords. 

The  last  positii  ^  (P')  represents  the  condition  of  the  glottis  in 
forming  "voice."  The  passage  of  air  through  the  slit-like  aperture 
occasions  a  vibration  of  the  vocal  cords.  The  glottis  then  alter- 
nately opens  and  closes  with  great  rapidity,  causing  the  emission  of 
a  series  of  puffs  from  the  lungs.  These  puffs  follow  each  other 
with  such  rapidity  that  the  ear  fails  to  distinguish  the  individual  im- 
pulses, and  recognizes  only  a  continuous  effeft  of  a  musical  char- 
after,  which  we  term  "voice." 

When  we  come  to  study  the  method  of  symbolizing  positions 
of  the  vocal  organs  devised  by  my  father,  Prof  A.  Melville  Bell,  and 
called  by  him  "Visible  Speech,"  we  shall  find  great  advantage  from 
considering  the  symbols  as  algebraical  signs.  Positions,  (like  P,  P'. 
and  P*),  which  are  simultaneously  assumed,  may  be  considered  as 


v?>  - 


^8 

added  together  (P+P-f  p*);  but  the  three  elements  (a  b  c)  which 
compose  each  position,  must  be  taken  as  multiplied  into  one  an- 
other (axbxc.)    Thus:— 

Position  for  00=  P-|-P  +  P"=a  b  c  +  a  b'  c'  4-  a'  b'  c'. 

Position  symbols  placed  in  juxtaposition  without  any  connec- 
tive sign  between  them  must  be  taken  as  successively,  not  simul- 
taneously, assumed.  Thus  P  P'  P'  means:  Assume  first  the  posi- 
tion P  alone,  then  P'  alone,  and  then  P'  alone. 

If  the  positions  (P,  P,  P',)  are  assumed  separately,  instead  of 
together,  they  yield  sounds  that  are  quite  unlike  the  vowel  00.  For 
example :  If  the  labial  position  (P)  be  assumed  witaout  any  other 
constri(5\ion  in  >  e  passage-way,  a  sound  results  which  is  not  an 
English  element  of  speech.  English-speaking  children,  however, 
give  the  sound  when  they  blow  upon  their  porridge  to  make  it  cool. 

If  the  lingual  position  (P)  alone  be  assumed,  the  resulting  sound 
is  the  German  eh  in  such  a  word  as  tiach. 

If  the  vocalizing  position  of  the  glottis,  (P*),  be  assumed  with- 
out any  other  constriction  higher  up  in  the  passage-way,  an  indef- 
inite vowel  sound  results  like  the  er-er-er  of  a  hesitating  speaker,  or 
like  the  vowel  heard  in  such  words  as  her,  sir,  word,  etc. 

If  two  of  the  positions  (P,  P',  P',)  are  simultaneously  assumed 
without  the  third,  still  other  sounds  result  which  neither  resemble 
the  vowel  00,  nor  the  sounds  I  have  just  described.     For  example: 

If  the  positions  P  and  P'  are  simultaneously  assumed  without 
P',  the  English  consonant  -wh  is  produced. 

If  the  positions  P  and  P'  are  simultaneously  assumed  without 
P',  the  sound  heard  is  that  of  the  German  u\  in  the  word  wie. 

If  the  positions  P'  and  P'  are  simultaneously  assumed  without 
P,  the  result  is  the  Gaelic  vowel  in  the  word  "laogh." 

These  fads  may  be  arranged  in  tabular  form  as  follows : 


fOSITIOMS   A&&t'.tllSO. 

RESULTING   SOL-NDS. 

P 

Blowing  to  cnol. 

P 

German  ch  in  "  tiach." 

P* 

The  vowel  er  \n  "  her." 

P+P' 

The  consonant  uh  in  "what." 

P+P' 

German  zi'  in  "wie." 

P'  +  P' 

Gaelic  "  aohg"  in  "laogh." 

P+P'  +  P" 

The  vowel  00  in  "too." 

What  we  term  an  "element  of  speech"  may  in  reality,  like 
the  vowel  00,  be  the  result  of  a  combination  of  positions.     The  t.ue 


element  of  articulation.  I  think,  is  a  constriAion  or  position  of  the 
vocal  organs  rather  than  a  sound.  Combinations  of  positions  ^ield 
new  sounds  just  us  combinations  of  chemical  elements  yield  new 
substances.  Water  is  a  substance  of  very  different  character  from 
either  of  the  gases  of  which  it  is  formed ;  and  the  vowel  oo  is  a  sound 
of  very  different  charafler  from  that  of  any  of  its  elementary  positions. 
When  we  symbolize  positions,  the  organic  relations  of  speech- 
sounds  to  Ciie  another  can  be  shown  by  means  of  an  equation,  for 
example ; — 

tnglish  u'/i  — P  +  P'. 
German  ch  —  P'. 
Hence  German  ih  =-  tnglish  :» A  -  P. 

The  e«]uation  asserts  that  the  English  wli  without  the  labial  con- 
striftion  (P)  is  the  German  ch. 

I  performed  this  equation  upon  the  mouth  of  Mr.  Lyon  during 
the  course  of  my  last  lecture.  While  Mr.  Lyon  was  prolonging  the 
sound  of  wh,  I  forced  his  lips  apart  with  my  fingers,  ;;nd  you  then 
heard  the  sound  of  German  rk.    Take  another  case: — 

The  English  vowel  oo  in  "  too  "  =  P  -|-  P '  +  P'. 
The  Gaelic  vowel  "  aogh  "  in  "  laogh  "  ==  P'  +  P'. 
Hence  " aogh"  -^oo  —  P. 

That  is:  The  English  vowel  "oo,"  without  the  labial  constric- 
tion (P)  is  the  Gaelic  Toicel  "  aogh." 

If  then  you  desire  to  pronounce  the  Gaelic  vowel  "aogh,  "sing 
the  vowel  oo  while  some  one  else  forces  your  lips  apart.  This  is  a 
diredion  that  will  enable  any  English-speaking  person  to  convert 
the  known  vowel  oo  into  the  unknown  Gaelic  sound  "aogh,"  with- 
out the  aid  of  hearing.  In  a  sin^''  ^  'nner,  the  sounds  known  to 
the  deaf  child  can  be  converted  i-mc  tne  unknown  sounds  of  the 
English  language.  Indeed,  manip  ilation  succeeds  better  with  a 
deaf  person  than  with  one  who  hea:  -.  because  the  hearing  person 
attempts  to  retain  the  souiui.  whereas  'he  deaf  child  simply  tries  to 
retain  the  position. 

The  symbols  of  Visible  Speech  bear  the  same  relation  to  pho- 
netics that  chemical  symbols  do  to  tlie  science  of  chemistry.  In 
dealing  with  the  mechanism  ot  speech,  it  is  as  necessary  now-a- 
days  to  make  use  of  my  father's  symbols,  as  it  is  to  use  chemical 
symbols  in  treating  of  the  composition  of  matter. 

As  many  of  you  are  already  famili.ir  with  the  subjed,  it  will 
not  be  necessary  lor  me  to  enter  into  any  detailed  description  of 
Visible  Speech.     I  shall,  therefore,  to-day,  simply  attempt  to  give  a 


40 


1 
■I 


general  idea  of  the  iiatuie  of  my  father's  iin-thod  of  symbolizing 
positions  of  the  vocal  organs,  so  as  to  enable  those  who  are  unfa- 
miliar with  the  subjecl  to  follow  me  intelligently  in  my  use  of  the 
symbols. 

The  fundamental  characters  represent  the  vocal  organs  and  the 
various  kinds  of  apertures  employed  in  the  production  of  speech ; 
and  these  can  be  combined  into  a  compound  form  to  express  a 
position  of  the  vocal  organs. 

A  character  shaped  like  a  tube  (  C  )  is  used  to  denote  a  very 
small  aperture  lor  the  escape  of  breath;  and  when  this  tube  is 
plugged  up  at  one  end  (3)  the  symbol  then  indicates  complete 
closure  of  the  passage-way. 

The  symbols  for  the  principal  organs  c ,  speech  are  shown  in 
Figure  7. 

The  adive  organs  of  the  mouth,  viz:  the  under  lip,  the  point 
of  the  tongue,  the  top  or  "  front "  part  of  the  tongue,  and  the  back 
of  the  tongue  are  represented  by  curves  that  form,  in  such  a  dia- 
gram as  that  shown,  the  outlines  of  the  organs  themselves.  This 
pictorial  basis  forms  an  element  of  great  value  in  teaching  the  deaf. 

The  upper  or  "passive  "  organs,  to  which  the  lower  or 
"active"  organs  are  usually  applied,  are  represented  by  the  same 
symbols,  written  upon  a  small  scale. 

Thus,  the  symbol  for  the  upper  lip  is  a  miniature  of  that  for  the 
lower  I'p;  the  upper  gum,  to  which  the  point  of  the  tongut  is 
usually  applied,  has  the  point-tongur  sign  upon  a  small  scale  -  the 
top  of  the  hard  palate  is  expressed  by  the  symbol  for  the  or 
"front"  of  the  tongue;  and  that  part  of  the  soft  palate  t(  nich 
the  back  of  the  tongue  is  applied  is  denoted  by  the  back  .ongue 
symbol  upon  a  reduced  scale. 


/ 


mK 


41 


Fir  7. 


)  Under  lip. 

^  Point  of  tongue. 

—  "  Top  "  or  "  Front "  part  of  tongue. 

(  Bacl(  of  tongue. 

\  Bacic  of  toft  palate. 

I  Slit-like  aperture  between  the  vocal  cords. 


»  Upper  lip. 

"  Upper  gum, 

n  Top  of  hard  palate. 

«  Front  pirt  of  soft  palate. 

»  Back  of  pharynx  behind  soft  palate. 


Ji 


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ts 


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k.  U  V 

XI  u  u 

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3 

M    •   3  ■ 

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D.  • 

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o"n  c  : 

^         u  . 

^  ■—  . 

3  C=5  . 

-C    ^i    ?^  . 

'J  '•^  §  ■ 

JZ  J=  <«  . 


c 
o 


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c 


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n 

I 

u 


3. 

I? 

■3;  * 
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■a 
k. 
o 

1    t 
n     3 

o     " 
is     iJ 


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4) 

The  various  comhin;tttons  of  these  po!iiiton^  tabulated  upon 
page  4a,  may  he  symboli/eJ  .is  lollows: 

POSITIONS   A.S.SUMH>. 

Expressed  Expressed 

upon  pliin  shown    upon  pl.in  shown 

in  Fig.  6.  in  Fig.  7.  rk.si  ltino  solnds. 

P y Blowing  to  cool, 

P' -C* (u'liD.in  th  ill  "  tidch," 

P' •  The  vowel  i«r  in  "her." 

P  +  P' 0'  +  C«     ..     The  consonant  k7i  in"  U'Aj/.' 

P+  P' 3'+  • Germ.in  :.  in  "uie." 

P'-t-P* C«-t-l    Gaelic  jogh  in  •'taoghr 

P+P  +P' D»-f-C*+l  ..The  vowel  00  in  "too.-' 

The  equations  to  which  I  have  directed  your  attention  may  he 
thus  expressed : 

1.  German  ih  —  hnglish  -^h  —  P. 

C  =  (D»  +  C')  -  O' 

2.  Gaelic  aogh  =  English  00  —  !'. 

C  -f  I  =  (D'  -(-  C  f  I)    -  D» 

Three  positions  (P,  P',  P').  have  been  shown  in  Fig.  b,  but  a 
fourth  position,  which  has  not  hitherto  been  noticed,  is  also  indi- 
cated in  thjt  diagram. 

The  soft  palate  is  in  contact  with  the  back  of  the  pharynx  thus 
closing  the  entrance  to  the  nasal  passages.  Visible  Speech  affords 
us  a  means  ot  expressing  this  position  if  we  so  desire.  The  portion 
of  the  soft  p.ti.ite  that  fits  ai^ainst  the  back  of  thf  phui\nx.  like  other 
adive  organs,  is  represented  by  its  own  outline  (»  ),  '-n  such  a  dia- 
gram as  Fig.  7;  and  the  part  of  the  pharynx  with  v  -'Ch  it  makes 
contad  could,  cc 'isistently  with  the  not.  twn,  be  represented  by  the 
same  symbol  in  miniature  ('). 

Combining  these  with  the  symbol  lor  passage-way  closed 
(3),  we  could  form  the  compound  character  O'  (soft  palate  shut 
against  back  of  phirynx).  In  English  utterance  this  position  is  con- 
stantly a.ssumed  during  the  act  of  speech,  excepting  when  the 
sounds  of  »/,  II.  and  ng  occu,.  As  a  matter  of  convenience  the 
position  u'  the  soft  palate  is  not  noted  exceptini,'  when  thest-  \ounds 
occur. 

When  the  soft  palate  is  depressed.  .i>  in  I  i,u  7,  .1  pa>sagc-way 
exists  between  it  and  the  back  of  the  pharvnx  thiouuh  whi^  h  mt 
escapes  into  the  nasal  p.iss.iges. 


44 
This  position  may  be  thus  expressed : 

In  forming  «  we  shut  the  lips  and  pass  voice  through  the 
nose  This  sound,  therefore,  results  from  three  positions  which  are 
simultaneously  assumed. 

Position  forw  =  D'  +  C  H-  I    (See  Fig.  8). 
That  is:     "Under  lip  shut  against  upper  lip"  plus  "central 
aperture,  between  the  soft  palate  and  back  of  the  pharynx."  plus 
slit-like  aperture  between  the  vocal  cords." 
Position  for  «  =  O-  +  C  +  I    (See  Fig.  9). 
Th.it   is.    "point   of  tongue,  shut  against  upper  gum"  plus 
central  aperture,  between  the  soft  palate,  and  back  of  the  pharynx, ' 
pKis     slit-hke  aperture  between  the  vocal  cords." 
Position  for  »g  =  a<  +  c'  +  I    (See  Fig.  10). 
That  is:     "Back  of  the  tongue  shut  against  the  soft  palate" 
plus     central  aperture,  between  the  soft  palate  and  back  of  thcphar- 
ynx     plus  "  slit-like  aperture  between  the  vocal  cords." 

RESUMfi   OF  ELEMENTARY  POSITIONS. 

D'  =  Under  lip,  shut  against  upper  lip. 
0-  =  Point  of  tongue,  shut  against  upper  gum. 
palatf  "  ^°^  ^°'    '^'°"*  ^  of  tongue,  shut,  against  top  of  hard 

Q'  =  Back  ot  tongue,  shut  against  soft  palate. 
D'  =  Soft  palate,  shut  against  back  of  pharynx. 
^_      O'  =  Central  aperture,  between  the  under  lip* and  the  upper 

O"  =  Central  aperture  between  the  point  of  the  tongue  and 
the  upper  gum.  " 

0"  =  Central  aperture  between  the  top  (or  "front")  of  th* 
tongue  and  the  hard  palate. 

C«  =  Central  aperture  between  the  back  of  the  tongue  and  the 
soft  palate. 

C  =  Central  aperture  between  the  soft  palate  and  back  of  the 
pharynx. 

I  =  Slit-like  aperture  between  the  two  vocal  cords. 
An  elementary  position  is  expressed  by  a  symbol  composed  of 
three  associated  charaaers.     For  example:— 

0>  =  :>'  or  P  =  a  b  c.     (Fig.  6). 
The  sign  for  the  constriaion  (c)  is  united  with  that  for  the 


45 


Fig.  8.    Position  for  M. 

i+c'  +  D'=a 


Fig.  o.     I'osition  for  N. 
l+C'+0"  =  0 


Fig.  10.     Position  for  NG. 

1  +  c  +  Q'  =  e 


46 

adive  organ  (a)  so  as  to  form  one  charader;  and  the  passive  organ 
(b)  appears  as  a  diacritical  mark. 

In  order  to  express  the  mechanism  ol  speech-sounds  with  accu- 
racy, as  many  symbols  are  n-quircd  as  there  are  elementary  positions 
to  be  represented.  Hence  many  sounds  like  the  vowel  oo  (Fig.  6), 
require  at  least  three  position-symbols  to  express  their  formation. 
(See  also  positions  for  //;,  //,  and  ;7^.-  Figs.  8.  q,  lo.) 

This  method  of  .symbolization.  though  admirable  for  the  pur- 
poses of  scientific  analysis,  would  be  unsuitable  for  current  use  as  a 
phonetical  representation  of  speech.  For  example:  It  would 
hardly  be  convenient  to  write  the  word  "  moon  "  in  the  following 
way! 

M  OO  N 

(D=>  +  C  +  I)  (0'  -I-  C^  +  I)  0"  +  C  +  I) 

See  Fig.  8.  See  Fig.  6  See  Fig.  9. 

In  order  to  fit  the  symbols  for  use  as  a  phonetical  alphabet,  my 
father  saw  that  it  was  necessary,  or  at  all  events  advisable,  that  each 
sound  should  be  represented  by  only  one  character;  and  that  there- 
fore, associated  positions  should  be  combined  into  a  compound  form 
capable  of  use  like  a  letter  of  the  alphabet. 

By  the  adoption  of  c^'rtain  principles  of  abbreviation  this  has 
been  accomplished  without  interfering  with  the  symbolic  charader 
of  the  notation. 

ABBREVIATIONS. 

I .  Passive  organs  may  in  general  be  implied  and  not  written. 
Th.s  plan  gets  rid  of  the  diacritical  marks  save  in  exceptional  cases. 
For  example:  O  ('Point  shut ")  alone,  without  any  representation 
of  the  passive  organ,  is  to  be  taken  as  meaning  O-  ("Point  shut 
against  the  upper  gum  ")  for  the  upper  gum  is  the  usual  place  of 
application  for  the  point  of  the  tongue.  The  symbol  expresses  the 
position  for  /. 

If,  however,  a  deaf  child  should  pronounce  /  by  placing  the 
point  of  the  tongue  against  the  top  of  the  hard  palate,  then  the 
passive  organ  must  be  shown,  thus  O".  So  also  when  we  repre- 
sent the  Mike  sound  produced  during  the  ad  of  spitting,  0> 
("  Point  of  the  tongue,  shut,  against  the  upper  lip.") 

In  forming  the  Sanscrit  "cerebral  /"  0«  ("Point  of  the  tongue, 
shut  against  the  soft  palate  ")  the  passive  organ,  being  abnormal, 
must  also  be  indicated. 

In  general,  the  passive  organ  may  be  omitted  withoui  ambi- 
guity, by  adopting  the  rule  that  in  such  cases  the  adive  organ  shall 


r^S^^- 


47 

be  considered  as  applied  to  that  passive  organ  whidi  is  rt-presenteJ 

by  its  own  symbol  in  miniature.     For  example: 

0  =  0'    U  =  O-     O  =  O"    C  =  €<=     C  r=  c' 
D  =  D'    0  =  0"    Q-Q"    0  =  0'     0  =  0' 

2.  I  have  already  alluded  to  tlie  abbreviation  employed  to 
represent  the  vocalizing  position  of  the  larynx.  The  slit-iike  aper- 
ture (I)  alone,  is  used  for  the  full  position — the  organs  themselves 
(the  vc.al  cords)  being  implied.  This  simple  symbol  (1)  is  admirably 
adapted  for  combination  with  other  signs  into  a  single  character. 
For  example: — 

D'  +  I  =  D  +  I  =  0 

O-  +  I  =  O  +  I .-   ^) 
Q"  +  I  =  Q  -f  I  =  Q 

a<^  -f- 1  =  a  -I- 1  =  Q 

0=>  +  C  +  I  (Fig.  0)  =  0  +  C  +  |  =  3  +  C  =  0  +  e  =  3  +  e 

3.  The  symbol  »  ("soft  palate")  is  used  to  indicate  C  (centre- 
aperture,  between  the  soft  palate  and  back  of  the  pharynx  ").  This 
can  be  combined  with  other  symbols  into  a  single  charader.  For 
example: — 

(Fig.  8)  D'  +  C'  +  l  =  D  +  t  +  |  =  D  +  l  =  G  +  »  =  8  (Position  for 

m). 
(Fig.  9)0»  +  C'  +  l=  O4-»  +  l  =  O  +  l  =  O  +  l  =  C0  (Position  for 

n). 
(Fig.    io.)a'  +  C'  +  l  =  a-f-J-|-l  =  a  +  l  =  G  +  t  =  a    (Position 

for  ng). 

4.  The  most  difficult  case  arises  when  two  mouth-positions  are 
simultaneously  assumed,  Fortunately  the  curves  to  be  combined 
are  usually  of  opposite  kind  so  that  one  can  be  hooked  on  to  the 
end  of  the  other. 

Thus  C  +  O  =  O  or  c 

The  resulting  charader,  however,  is  of  so  awkward  a  shape 
that  another  hook  is  added  for  the  sake  of  symmetry.  Curves  of 
this  kind  are  what  my  father  terms  "mixed"  symbols.  For 
example : — 

C  +  O  =  O  a  labial  position  modified  by  the  back  of  the 
tongue  (English  wh). 

Or  =  G  a  back  tongue  position  modified  by  the  lips.  (A  labi- 
alized German  ck). 

<^  +  O  =  O  A  front-tongue  position  modified  by  the  point  of 
the  tongue  (English  sh). 


Or  =  y  a  point-tongue  position  modified  by  the  top  or  "from  " 
of  the  tongue  (English  s). 

5.  When  two  or  more  positions  are  simultaneously  assumed, 
the  sound  may  be  considered  as  originating  at  the  point  of  greatest 
constridlion — the  other  constridions  metely  modifying  the  effeft. 

In  representing  associated  positions,  therefore,  the  point  of 
greatest  constriction  is  selefted  as  the  base  for  the  compound  sym- 
bol, and  the  other  positions  are  indie. ted  in  a  subordinate  manner. 

t-or  example,  take  the  positions  shown  in  Fig.  6.  In  this  case 
we  have  three  associated  positions,  P,  P',  and  P'. 

Now  if  P,  (the  labial  position),  should  happf  n  to  be  the  point  of 
greatest  constriftion,  a  rustling  noise  will  be  perceived  originating 
at  the  labial  aperture. 

This  kind  of  sound  is  characteristic  of  air  under  pressure, 
escaping  through  a  fine  orifice.  We  can  recognize  by  ear  many 
varieties  of  the  sound  for  which  we  have  no  name.  It  varies, 
according  to  the  ,si/:e  of  the  orifice,  and  the  degree  of  pressure, 
from  a  simple  rustling  sound — like  the  rustling  of  leaves  upon  a  tree, 
to  an  intense  hiss — like  the  noise  of  steam  escaping  from  a  loco- 
motive. When  the  vocal  organs  yield  a  noise  of  this  charader,  we 
call  the  effeft  a  "  consonant  sound." 

If,  then,  the  00-like  eflfecl  produced  by  the  positions  shown  in 
Fig,  6,  is  accompanied  by  a  rustling  sound  at  the  labial  orifice  (P), 
we  call  the  result  a  labial  "consonant,"  and  not  a  "  vowel"  although 
the  voice  is  heard.  The  labial  position  becomes  the  base  for  the 
compound  symbol  which  is  ti.en  written  as  follows: — 

0'  +  C  +  1  =  3  (English  v)  a  labial  position  modified  by 
the  back  of  the  tongue  and  the  throat. 

If  P',  (Fig.  6),  be  the  point  of  greatest  constriction  a  rustling 
sound  is  also  heard,  but  in  this  case  it  originates  within  the  mouth,  at 
the  back-tongue  position  (German  rh),  and  the  labial  aperture 
simply  modifies  the  effed.  This  rustling  noise  charadlerizes  the 
sound  as  a  "  consonant  "  although  the  voice  is  also  heard.  In  this 
case  the  back-tongue  position  becomes  the  base  and  the  other  posi- 
tions are  indicated  in  a  subordinate  mannor. 

C  +  0'  +  •  =  €J  (German  ck  modified  by  the  lips  and 
vocal  cords. 

If  P'  (Fig.  6),  be  the  point  of  greatest  constriftion,  the  sound 
heard  originates  in  the  glottis.  Instead  of  a  continuous  ructling 
noise  or  hiss,  an  intermittent  effedl  is  produced  by  the  vibration  of 
the  vocal  cords     The  air  escapes  in  a  series  of  puffs  that  succeed 


49 


one  another  with  such  rapidity  as  to  produce  upon  the  ear  the  effe£\ 
of  a  musical  tone.  Voice  alone  is  heard  without  any  rustling  or 
whistling  accompaniment  in  the  mouth.  This  charaderizes  the 
sound  as  a  "vowel  '.  The  sound  originates  at  the  position  P".  and 
the  mouth  positions  \\  P'.  merely  modify  the  effect. 

The  slit-like  aperture  between  the  vocal  cords  is  therefore 
made  the  base  for  the  compound  symbol;  and  the  mouth  positions 
P,  P',  are  indicated  in  a  subordinate  manner  as  follows  :— 

I  4-  C'  +  3'  =  i  (vowel  oo),  a  laryngeal  position  modified 
by  the  back  of  the  tongue  and  the  lips. 

The  vertical  line  or  "vowel  stem."  represents  (I)  the  slit-like 
aperture  between  the  vocal  cords  (P',  Fig.  6).  the  black  dot  indi- 
cates the  back-tongue  position  C  (P )  •  and  the  horizontal  cross- 
bar the  labial  position  0'  (P). 

The  three  sounds  represented  by  the  symbols  S3,  G  and  i, 
result  from  almost  identical  positions  of  the  vocal  org.ins,  and  in 
teaching  the  deaf  the  sounds  themselves  may  be  considered  as  iden- 
tical. The  subtle  distindions,  however,  recognized  by  the  ear  are 
faithfully  depicted  to  the  eye,  in  the  shape  and  general  appearance 
of  the  symbols. 

The  symbols  for  w  (&).  and  the  vowel  oo  (\),  may  be  taken  as 
typical  of  consonant  and  vowel  symbols  in  general.  A  curve  {/.  e. 
a  mouth-position),  is  the  charaderistic  feature  of  a  consonant  sym- 
bol ;  and  a  straight  line  (I)  (the  slit-like  aperture  between  the  vocal 
cords),  forms  the  basis  of  the  vowel  notation. 

In  conclusion  I  may  say  that  the  symbols  for  all  the  English 
consonant.^  and  vowels  have  been  abbreviated  to  single  signs,  and 
that  the  phonetical  alphabet  thus  produced  is  admirably  adapted  for 
use  in  schools  for  the  deaf.  The  following  example  of  abbrevintion 
may  be  of  interest : 

M  OO  N 

(D'4-C*-|-l)  (C^-f  O'  +  l)  (0--|-C'  +  l)  =SiCO 
Fig.  8.  Fig.  6.  Fig.  9- 

In  my  next  ieclure  1  shall  present  the  symbols  of  Visible  Speech 
in  the  way  they  are  taught  to  the  deaf. 

Dr.  Bell  then  took  charge  of  some  children  and  illustrated  his 
method  of  teaching. 

Dr.  Bell :  You  must  understand  that  while  1  claim  the  privi- 
lege of  telling  you  in  the  forenoon  what  I  want  to  tell  you,  I  want 
to  do  in  the  afternoon  just  what  you  want. 

(Dr.  Bell  here  gave  an  exhibition  of  the  clicks  with  Miss  Black's 
little  girl  pupil.) 


so 


1 


He  said :  "It  dots  not  matter  what  sound  you  get  from  a  child 
as  long  as  you  get  a  sound.  The  plan  is  to  follow  the  child  up  and 
symbolize  the  different  sounds  made,  and  get  him  to  remember  and 
repeat  the  varieties  that  occur.  I  go  from  the  known  to  the  un- 
known. The  queer  sounds  cliildren  make  are  the  known  sounds  to 
them  and  the  English  sounds  the  unknown.  Children  like  the 
process,  and  this  to  my  mind  is  a  proof  that  it  is  suited  to  their  con- 
dition. There  is  something  wrong  about  a  process  that  gives  pain 
to  a  child.  It  grieves  my  heart  to  visit  schools  for  the  deaf  and  find 
little  children  constantly  correc'ted  for  minor  defers  of  pronuncia- 
tion. The  nagging  process  interrupts  the  flow  of  thought  through 
speech,  and  is  ipt  to  dishearten  the  child  in  his  attempts  to  speak. 
I  would  accept  all  sounds  with  approval,  and  utilize  defedlive  sounds 
in  the  way  I  have  suggested  above." 


-         f 


VISIBLE  SPEECH  AS  TAUGHT  TO  THE  DEAF. 

The  following  Ch.irts  are  employed  for  the  purpose  of  explain- 
ing to  deaf  children  the  meaning  of  my  fathers  'Visible  Speech" 
symbols. 

The  elementary  symbols  shown  m  Chart  I.  are  compounded  in 
Charts  II.  and  III.  to  express  positions  of  the  vocal  organs  which 
yield  consonant  sounds.  In  Chart  IV.  we  have  other  elementary 
symbols  which  are  combined  in  Chart  V.  to  express  vowel  positions 
Chart  VI.  Illustrates  symbolically  the  positions  of  the  vocal  organs 
in  uttering  English  consonants,  and  Chart  VII.  symbolizes  positions 
that  yield  English  vowels. 

CHART  I. 
The  teacher  selects  some  member  of  her  class,  and  pretends  to 
draw  upon  the  blackboard  the  profile  of  the  pupils  face.     She  then 
looks  into  the  pupils  mouth  and  proceeds  to  draw  a  piclure  of  the 
interior  of  the  mouth.     The  whole  picture  when   completed   con- 
stitutes a  diagram  like  that  shown  in   Chart   I.     The  tea-her  then 
proceeds  to  test  the  child. en's  comprehension  of  the  drawing      She 
points  to  different  parts  of  the  diagram,  for  example  the  forehead 
nose,  upper  lip,  lower  lip,  chin,  lower  part  of  jaw,  throat,  etc.    The 
children   indicate  their  comprehension  of  the  diagram  by  touching 
the  corresponding  parts  of  their  own    faces.      Attention    is    then 
direded  to  the  interior  of  tiie  mouth,  and  the  teacher  points  to  the 
pidure  of  the  upper  teeth,  upper  gum,  top  of  the  hard   palate,  soft 
palate,  etc.    The  children  touch  or  attempt  to  touch  the  correspond- 
ing parts  of  their  own  mouths.     So  with  the  lower  organs,— the 
under  teeth,  the  point  of  the  tongue,  the  top  or  "  front  '  part  of  the 
tongue,  the  b;;ck  of  the  tongue,  etc. 

51 


k7^5i'  ^  V'^ar'w^ 


53 

When  the  comprehension  of  th*  clnss  hns  been  well  tested,  the 
teacher  erases  from  the  blackboard  all  those  parts  of  the  diagram 
which  are  shown  by  dotted  lines  in  Chart  I.,  leaving  the  Visible 
Speech  symbols  in  position  as  shown  by  the  heavy  lines. 

The  teacher  points  to  the  fragmentary  remains  of  the  pi£\ure 
upon  the  blackboard,  and  the  pupils  recognize  the  symbol'  as  "the 
nose,"  the  "under  lip,"  "the  point  of  the  tongue,"  "the  top.  or 
front  of  the  tongue,"  "the  back  of  the  tongue,"  and  "the  throat." 
The  arrow-head,  which  represents  a  sudden  emission,  or  puff,  of  air 
from  the  mouth,  is  indicated  by  a  sudden  motion  of  the  hand  away 
from  the  mouth. 

The  next  step  is  to  have  the  pupils  recognize  the  symbols  inde- 
pendently of  their  position  on  the  blackboard.  The  symbols  are 
therefore  written  in  one  line  below  the  fragments  of  the  head  (see 
Chart  I.)  The  heavy  lines  alone  are  written,  th«  dotted  lines  not 
appearing  at  all. 

The  pupils  then  compare  these  symbols  with  the  fragments  of 
the  drawings  above  and  identify  them, — as  (i)  the  throat,  (2)  the 
back  of  the  tongue,  (3)  the  top,  or  front  part,  of  the  tongue,  (4) 
the  point  of  the  tongue,  (s)  the  under  lip,  (6)  the  nose,  and  (7) 
puff  of  air  from  the  mouth. 

Finally  the  upper  dr.-'wing  is  entirely  removed  from  the  black- 
board, and  the  lower  line  of  symbols  alone  is  left.  Each  pupil 
describes  these  as  follows:  (1)  he  touches  his  throat;  (2)  he  points 
backwards  into  his  mouth  with  u  little  jerk  of  the  hand,  indicating 
a  part  of  the  tongue  further  back  in  the  mouth  than  he  can  well 
touch  with  his  finger;  (3)  he  touches  the  top,  or  front  part,  of  his 
tongue;  (4)  he  touches  the  tip,  or  point,  of  his  tongue;  (5)  he 
touches  his  under  lip;  (6)  he  touches  his  nose;  (7)  iic  places  his 
hand  near  his  mouth  to  indicate  a  sudden  emission,  or  puff,  of  air. 

After  these  have  been  mastered,  two  new  symbols,  shown  at 
the  bottom  of  Chart  I.  are  introduced.  Here  again  it  should  be 
noticed  that  the  symbols  drawn  on  tli^  blackboard  consist  only  of 
the  parts  in  heavy  lines,  the  parts  in  dotted  lines  being  omitted. 
The  first  of  these  new  marks  as  you  already  know,  symbol!  -  a 
pipe  or  passage  through  which  air  may  pass.  In  the  second  e 
the  pipe  is  shut  or  stopped  up,  at  one  end.  The  first  indicate^  a 
narrow  central  aperture  or  passage,  somewhere  in  the  mouth ;  the 
second  indicates  the  complete  closure  or  shutting  of  the  mouth- 
passsire  at  some  part.  The  idea  is  of  too  abstract  a  charafter  to  be 
explained  at  once  to  a  deaf  child  who  knows  no  language;  hence 


'■■'-'^  f.*  .ti%_v%':s('«*s.-'. 


CHART    I 


J 


/P 


( 


I 


\ 


I    ( 


ZCl 


)  s 


M 


f  f 


these  symbols  nrc  taught  nrbitrnrily  as  positions  of  the  fingers  with 
out  any  attempt  being  nude  to  explain  their  si^jnificance.     As  a 
matter  of  fad,  deaf  children  come  to  underst.md  their  meaning  when 
applied  to  the  explanation  ot  positions  of  the  mouth. 

1  he  pupils  .ire  taught  to  indicate  the  first  symbol  at  the  bottom 
of  Chart  I.  by  holding  the  thumb  and  foretiiiger  ot  the  light  hand 
near  to  one  another  without  touching.  This  sign  we  may  translate 
as  "centre  aperture."  The  second  or  "shut  '  symbol,  is  shown  bv 
bringing  the  thumb  and  Ibretinger  together  with  a  shutting  action. 

We  may  here  notice  that  the  .straight  line  indicating  a  slit-like 
aperture  between  the  vocal  cords,  is  used  in  the  sense  of  "  voice." 
When  a  deaf  child  pl.iccs  his  hand  upon  the  throat  of  his  teacher 
he  can  feel  a  vibration  or  tiemor  in  the  throat,  whenever  the  voice 
is  sounded.  Hence  he  soon  comes  to  associate  the  throat  sign  with 
a  vibration  of  the  vocal  cords,  and  he  mdicates  •'  voice"  by  touch- 
ing his  throat. 

It  should  also  be  noticed  that  the  "no.se  '  sign  is  really  pictorial 
0(  the  pendulous  extremity  of  the  soft  palate,  and  it  indicates,  as 
you  have  already  learned,  -soft  palate  depressed"  ;;o  as  to  allow 
air  tc  pass  into  the  nasal  passages.  When  a  de.if  child  places  his 
finger  against  the  nose  of  his  teacher  while  she  pronounces  in.  ii,  or 
ng.  he  can  feel  a  vibration  or  tremor  of  the  nostrils,  and  to  him  the 
soft  palate  symbol  means  voice  or  breath  passing  through  the  nose. 

The  symbols  shown  upon  Chart  I.  are  capable  of  being  com- 
bined into  compound  forms,  some  of  which  are  shown  in  Charts  II. 
and  III..  Before  proceeding,  however,  to  the  analysis  of  the  com- 
pound charaders  on  these  Charts  it  may  be  well  to  assign  brief 
names  to  the  elementary  symbols  of  Chart  1. :  these  we  can  use  to 
designate  the  gestures  or  signs  employed  by  the  deaf  child  which 
have  been  explained  above. 

In  the  following  Charts,  1  shall  refer  lo  the  symbols  at  the  bot- 
tom of  Chart  I.  as  — 

I.  Voice.  2.  Back.  }.  1-ront.  4.  I'oint.  s.  I.ip.  6.  Nose. 
7.  Puff  of  air.     8.  Centre-aperture.     9.  Shut. 

CHART   II. 

The  symbols  on  this  Chart  are  named  by  the  deaf  child  by 
analyzing  them  into  the  elementary  symbols  of  which  they  are  com- 
posed     We  may  translate  his  signs  as  follows:— 

First  line.— I.  Lip  centre-aperture.  2.  Point  centre-aperture. 
}.  Front  centre-aperture.     4.  Back  centte-aperture. 


%s 


Second  line.— I,   Lip  contrc-apertun .  \oiCf.     2.   I\nnf  ceiitic 
;ip<rtiirc.  Voice.     ?.  Front  ccntre-apcrfiire,  \'oiie.    4.  B.u  |< 
centre-aperture,  Voice. 

Third  line  — 1.  Lip  centre-aperture,  Nose.  2.  Point  centre- 
aperture,  No.se.  ).  Front  centre-aperture,  No.se.  4.  h.tck 
centre-aperture.  Nose. 
Fourth  line.  — I.  Lip  centre-aperture.  Voice,  Nose.  3.  foint 
centre-aperture,  Voice,  Nose.  j.  Fnnt  Cciilre-apertuic. 
Voice.  Nose.  )  B.ick  centre-apertuie.  Voice,  Nose. 
Filth  line.-  1.   Up  shut.    3.   Point  shut.     1.  Fr..ntshut.  4.  H.ick 

shut. 
.Sixth  line.—  i.     Lip  shut.    N'oice.     2.    I'oint    .shut.    Voice.      5, 

Front  shut,  Voice.     4.   IVick  slmt,  Voice. 
Sevenil     line.  -1.   Lip   shut    Nose.     2.   Point   shut,    Nose.     i. 

Front  shut,  Nose,     .»,   Back  shut.  Nose, 
tiKhth  line.-i.    Lip  .shut.  Voice.  Nose-.     2.   Point  shut.  Voice. 
Nosf       ?.   Front  shut.  Voice.  N..sc.     .4.    Back  shut.  V,..o. 
Nose, 
Long  before  a  cla.s«,  h.is  liiushiii  dcscribinK  these  symbols,  the 
pupils  be.uin  to  obtain  the  idea  that  the  symbols  are  diredtions  to  Jo 
something  with  the  mouth.     For  example,  uh<-n  fhev  dt-scribe  the 
first  symbol  in  the  fifth  line.      Lip  shut.  '  some  of  them  usually  shut 
their    lips.      After    the    whole   Chait  has  l^een  described,   it  ti, .n 
becomes  the  teacher's  duty  to  make  the  children  understand  that 
the  compound  symbols  they  have  been  de.-,cribmK  indicate  positions 
of  the  mouth.     The   teacher  directs   ittmtion  to  ru-r  mouth  while 
she  ..ssumcs  some  of  the  positions  symbolized,     h.r  example,  she 
oescribes  serutim  the  symbols  in  the  first  line. 

I.  "Lip  centre-aperture.'  She  pla.es  her  lips  close  to>,eti,er 
leaving  a  small  aperture  between  Hem.  .Sae  then  takes  a  pupils 
hand  and  blows  th:oiigh  th's  small  centre-aperture  .against  his  hand. 
The  resulting  sound  is  noi  an  tnglish  element  of  speech,  but  is  th,. 
sound  produced  by  blowing  to  cool  .something. 

3.    She  descriiies    the   next    symbol,    '•Poin'  're-aperture." 

Uith  her  hand  .she  lifts  up  the  point  of  her  to.,_...  and  brin-s  it 
into  positicn  again.st  the  upper  gum,  and  makes  the  pupil  look  into 
her  mouth  and  observe  that  there  is  a  small  aperture  or  hole  between 
the  point  of  her  tongue  and  the  upper  gum.  She  then,  without 
rnoving  her  tongue,  blows  through  the  point  centre-aperture  against 
the  pupils  hand.  The  resultant  sound  is  that  of  the  French  r  in 
the  wc-d  thedtre,  or  the  English  r.  (non-vocal),  in  the  word  tree 


In  a  similar  manner  she  %howi  that  in  protiouncin«  ih-  third 
symbol  "From  .fntrc-;.pcmire,-  the  tongue  is  h-im^.J  up  i,,  the 
middle.  IcavinR  ..  sm.iI!  centre  pass.iKe  or  channel  over  the  front  of 
the  tongue,  through  which  she  can  Mow  against  ihc  pupils  hand. 
4  he  resultant  sound  is  that  of  the  letter  A  in  the  word  Hu,: 

4  In  pronouncing  the  fourth  symbol  she  pushes  her  tongue 
towards  the  back  part  ol  her  mouth  with  her  hand,  a.id  shows  that 
her  tongue  remains  back  when  her  hand  is  removed.  She  then  lets 
the  pupil  feci  that  an  can  be  blown  upon  his  hand  without  moving 
the  tongue.  The  resulting  sound  is  that  of  the  German  ch  in  vhe 
word  HdiA. 

Proi  ceding  next  to  the  second  line:  — 

I.  She  shows  that  the  first  symbol,  "Lip  center-apcrture. 
Voice."  IS  the  same  as  the  first  symbol  in  the  first  line,  ••  Up  certre- 
•perture.-  excepting  that  a  straight  line  is  pbced  within  the  curve. 
She  shows  then  that  the  lips  are  in  the  same  position,  but  that  a 
tremor  or  vibration  can  be  felt  in  the  throat  which  could  not  be  felt 
when  the  other  symbol  was  sounded.  She  takes  the  two  hands  of 
her  pupil  and  places  one  against  her  throat,  and  holds  the  other  in 
front  of  her  mouth  while  she  produces  "Lip  centre-aperture. 
Voice,  The  pupil  sees  the  small  centre-aperture  between  the  lips 
and  feels  the  emission  of  air  against  his  hand,  and  also  perceives  the 
trcmbhng  of  the  throat  when  the  voice  is  sounded.  The  resulting 
sound  is  the  German  w  in  the  word  wie. 

a.  In  a  similar  manner,  keeping  one  of  the  pupils  hands  on 
her  throat  and  the  other  in  front  of  the  mouth,  she  produces  the 
second  symbol  in  tbc  second  line.  "Point  centre-aperture.  Voice" 
contrasting  it  with  the  second  symbol  in  the  first  line,  which  his 
no  voice.     He  sees  the  centre-aperture  over  the  point  of  the  tongue 
and  feels  the  vibration  of  the  voice  and  the  emission  of  air  from  the 
mouth.     The  resulUng  sound  is  that  of  the  letter  r  in  the  word  run. 
}.  In  a  similar  manner  she  exemplifies  the  third  symbol  in  the 
second  line,  "  Front  centre-aperture.  Voice."    The  resultant  sound 
is  that  cf  the  consonant  y  in  you.     In  teaching  the  deaf,  this  may 
be  considered  identical  with  the  vowel  ee. 

4.  The  fourth  symbol  in  the  second  line,  "  Back  centre-aperture, 
Voice."  is  shown  to  be  the  same  as  the  German  ch  (Back  centre- 
aperture),  excepting  that  a  vibration  is  felt  in  the  throat. 
Proceeding  next  to  the  eighth  line  ;— 

I.  The  teacher  describes  the  first  symbol.  "  Lip  shut.  Voice, 
Nose."    In  forming  this  sound  the  lips  are  shut  and  the  voice  is 


wm 


km] 


!  "<r^p 


CHART    II 

U      O       C 


) 


-)    Ct)    (T)     (- 


o  a  o  ( 


wS 


B   i^  O   €, 
D   D   Q   O 


3   0   O 

O   0   Q  G 
B   05  0  G 


m   kTzs   1 


58 


passed  through  the  nose.  She  places  one  of  the  pupils  hands 
against  her  throat,  and  the  other  against  her  nose,  and  produces  the 
sound  of  the  letter  m.  The  pupil  sees  the  closure  of  the  lips  and 
feels  a  vibration  in  the  throat  and  nose. 

2.  The  second  symbol  in  the  eighth  line,  "Point  shut.  Voice, 
No.se,"  represents  the  position  of  tl.e  organs  in  forming  the  letter ;;. 
The  pupil  sees  the  point  of  the  tongue  shut  against  the  upper  gum 
and  feels  a  vibration  in  the  throat  and  nose. 

4.  The  last  .symbol  in  the   eighth   line,    '-Back   shut.    Voice. 
Nose,"  expresses  the  position  of  the  organs  when  producing  iig  in 
such  a   word  as  sing.     Here   the  pupil  .sees  that  the  back  of  the 
tongue  s  raised,  and  feels  a  vibration  in  the  throat  and   no.se.     The 
objecn  of  this  exemplification  is  simply  to  make  the  pupils  under- 
stand what  the  symbols  mean,  and  not  to  get  them  to  make  the 
sounds  themselves.     Still,  the  children  generally  try  to  imitate  what 
the  teacher  does,  and  of  course,  in  some  cases  the»'  fail  because  they 
have  not  yet  acquired  control  over  their  vocal  organs.     As  it  is  not 
the  objea  of  their  teacher  at  this  stage  to  cause  the  pupil  to  make 
sounds,  she  should  not  take  any  notice  of  their  failures  for  fear  of 
discouraging  them.     She  should  be  satistied  with  evidences  of  com- 
prehension as  to  the  meaning  of  the  symbols.     Most   children  are 
able  to  take  Charts  1.  and  II.  in  one  lesson.     After  reviewing  these 
at  a  subsequent  time  the  third  Chart  is  explained. 

CHART   III. 
The   pupils  attention  is  direded  to  the  .symbol  "Lip  centre- 
aperture"  (see  the  lirst  symbol  in  Ch.irt  II.),  which  he  describes  by 
touching  the  under  lip  and  then  holding  the  thumb  and  forefinger 
close  together  without  touching.     The  teacher  then  direds  attention 
to  the   mouth,  and  shows  that  there  is  only  one  small  hole  through 
which  the  air  pa.sse.s.     She  then  holds  her  lips  together  in  the  mid- 
dle and  allows  air  to  escape  through  two  side  apertures,  one  at  each 
corner  of  the  mouth,  showing  the  pupil  that  now  there  are  two 
holes  through  which  the  air  escapes  instead  of  one.     This  fact  siie 
symbolizes  by  writing  two  "Lip  centre-aperture  "  symbols  one  above 
the  other,   ^  thus,  forming  a  characler  .somewhat  like  the  Arabic 
numeral  }.       This  the  pupil  describes  by  touching  his  lip,  and  then 
holding  near  the  thumb  two  fingers,  instead  of  one  alone,  indicating 
that  the  aperture  is  divided  into  two  parts.     Thus  the  thumb  and 
forefif.ger  held  together  indicate  one  central  aperture,  and  the  thumb 
held  near  the  fore  and  middle  fingers  indicates  "divided  aperture." 
Turning  now  to  Chart  III.  the  symb;)li,  are  described  as  follows: 


^9 

First  line.— I.  Lip  divided-npcrturc.    2.  Point  divided-jpcrtuiv. 

}.  Front  dividid-;iperturc'.  4.  B.ick  diviJid-jpertiirc 
Second  line.  — I.  Lip  divided-apcrturf,  Voice.  2.  I'oint  di- 
vided-aperture. Voice.  5.  Front  divided-aperture,  Voice. 
4.  Back  divided-aperture,  Voice. 
The  second  symbol  in  the  second  line,  "  Point  divided-aperture. 
Voice,"  expresses  the  position  of  the  tongue  in  forming  the  sound 
of  /  in  such  a  word  as  hnf.  The  point  of  the  tongue  is  pl.iced 
against  the  upper  gum,  and  the  voice  is  pa.ssed  through  two  side 
apertures,  one  on  each  side  of  the  tongue.  The  syuihois  in  the 
third,  fourth,  fifth,  and  sixth  lines  are  what  my  father  terms  "mixed  " 
symhois,  involving  two  positions  of  the  organs  a.ssumed  siMuiit.i- 
neously.  The  first  symbol  in  the  the  third  line  is  composed  of  .1 
large  'Lip  centre-aperture"  symbol  with  a  small  "Back  centre- 
aperture  "  hooked  on  to  one  end  of  the  curve.  For  the  sake  of 
symmetry  another  small  "  Back  centre-aperture  "  is  attached  to  the 
other  end  of  the  curve,  but  this  has  no  organic  significance.  This 
compound  symbol  expres.ses  the  position  of  the  organs  in  sounding 
the  English  element  represented  by  the  letters  ■ufi  in  such  a  word  as 
'u'liis/lf.  The  back  of  the  tongue  is  in  the  position  for  the  German 
lit  (Back  centre-aperture),  while  at  the  same  time  a  small  centre- 
aperture  is  formed  by  the  lips.  The  labi.il  aperture  being  more 
obstructive  than  the  back  aperture,  charai'teri/es  the  sound  as  .1 
labial  letter.  For  this  reason  the  "  Lip  rentre-aperture  sign  is  made 
the  most  prominent  part  of  the  com.pound  symbol.  Deaf  pupils 
describe  this  symbol  as  "Lip  centre-.iperture,  B.ick  centre-aper- 
ture." 

Proceeding  now  with  the  description  of  the  remaining  symbols 
upon  Chart  III,  we  have: — 

Third  line.  —  i.  Lip  centre-aperture.  Back  centre-aperture.  2. 
Point  centre-aperture,  Front  centre-aperture.  }.  Front 
centre-aperture,  Point  centre-aperture.  4.  Back  centre- 
aperture.  Lip  centre-aperture. 
Fourth  line. — i.  Lip  centre-aperture,  Back  centre-aperture, 
Voice.  2.  Point  centre-aperture.  Front  centre-aperture. 
Voice.  }.  Front  centre-aperture.  Point  centre-aperture. 
Voice.  4.  Back  centre-aperture,  Lip  I  entrt -aperture,  Voice. 
Fifth  line.  — I.  Lip  divided-aperture.  Back  cenfre-aperture.  2. 
Point  divided-aperture,  Front  centre-aperture.  3.  Front 
divided-aperture.  Point  centre-aperture.  4.  Back  divided- 
aperturC:  Lip  centre-aperture. 


6o 


N 


II 


l.ip    divided-aperture,    Back 

I'oint  divided-upcrturc,  Front 

Front  divided-Hpcrture,   Point  centre-aperture, 

B;Kk    ilivided-aperturi'.     l.ip    centre-aperture, 


centre-aperture, 
centre-aperture. 


Sixth    line.  —  i. 

Voice.     2. 

Voice.     }. 

Voice.     4. 

Voice. 
Numerous  other  compound  ^ymbois  might  be  built  up  out  of 
the  elementary  signs  shown  in  Chart  1.,  expressing  both  possible  and 
impossible  positions  of  the  organs.  The  forms  shown  in  Charts  il. 
and  III.  are  not  intended  to  be  pronounced  by  the  pupil,  but  are 
given  simply  as  exercises  in  an.ilysis.  If  the  pupil  can  be  made 
to  u'ld.  ;tand  the  meaning  of  the  compound  symbols  by  analyzing 
them  into  their  elementary  forms,  Visible  Speech  becomes  a  symbolic 
language,  whereby  any  imaginable  position  of  the  vocal  organs  may 
be  expressed,  so  as  to  be  understood  by  the  children. 

The  remaining  symbols  on  Chart  III.  seventh  line,  .ire  throat 
symbols.     They  pidure  various  conditions  of  the  glottis. 

I.  The  tirst  charader,  shaped  like  the  letter  O,  pictures  a  wide 
aperture  in  the  throat.  The  vocal  cords  are  wide  apart,  leaving  a 
large  opening  between  them  through  which  air  may  freely  pass 
without  obstrudion.  This  is  the  condition  of  the  glottis  in  uttering 
the  letter  h,  and  all  non-vocal  or  breath  consonants.  The  letter  k 
may,  indeed,  be  considered  as  the  non-voca!  or  breath  form  of  a 
vowel.  It  has  just  as  many  different  sounds  as  there  are  vowels. 
Prcaounce  such  words  as  Iw,  Inn;  ha,  hoe,  and  uho;  it  will  be 
observed  that  the  mouth-position  f(^r  the  sound  of  h  is  different  in 
each  word.  H  only  occurs  as  an  element  of  speech  befoi  ^  a  vowel. 
Under  such  circumstances  the  mouth  position  for  k  is  the  same  as 
for  the  succeeding  vowel,  but  the  opening  in  the  glottis  is  so  wide 
as  to  allow  the  breath  to  pass  into  the  mouth  without  sensible 
obstruftion  in  the  throat. 

2.  The  second  symbol  in  the  seventh  line,  pictures  a  smaller 
iiperture  in  the  throat  than  the  first.  The  vocal  cords  aie  brought 
near  enough  together  to  obstru(^t  in  some  degree  the  passage  of  air 
between  them,  giving  rise  to  a  rustling  sort  of  sound  which  is  uni- 
versally denominated  "whisper."  This  is  the  condition  of  the 
glottis  when  we  whisper  vowel  sounds.  This  position  of  the 
throat  also  may  be  assumed  in  uttering  consonants,  thus  giving  rise 
to  the  'whispered'  consonants,  which  in  .some  languages  are 
significant  elements  of  speech,  quite  distinct  in  meaning  from  the 
•'breath  "  and  "  voiced  consonants  of  similar  formation  occurring 
in  the  same  languages. 


6l 

).  We  have  already  become  familiar  with  the  third  symbol  in 
the  seventh  line,  as  the  representative  of  voice.  It  pictures  a  still 
smaller  aperture  in  the  throat  than  either  of  the  preceding.  The 
vocal  cords  are  placed  p.iralle!  to  one  another,  and  the  aperture 
between  them  is  reduced  to  a  mere  slit  (pictured  by  a  straight  line). 
In  this  condition  of  the  glottis  the  passage  of  air  through  the  slit- 
like aperture  occasions  a  vibration  of  the  vocal  cords,  producing 
voice.  This  is  the  condition  of  the  glottis  in  uttering  vocal  conso- 
nants and  vowels. 

4.  The  fourth  symbol  in  the  seventh  line,  pidures  complete 
closure  of  the  glottis.  The  vocal  cords  are  pressed  together  so  as  to 
completely  shut  the  aperture  between  them,  and  prevent  the  escape 
of  air.  This  is  the  condition  of  the  glottis  aimed  at  by  singers  in 
praclicing  what  is  called  the  "roup  Je  glotle."  It  also  occurs  as  an 
element  of  speech  in  certain  dialers.  For  example:  In  the  Scotch 
dialect  as  spoken  in  Glasgow,  "Throat  shut  "is  substituted  for/ 
(Point  shut)  in  such  words  as  butter,  water,  etc.  In  English  also  it 
occurs  as  an  unrecognized  element  of  speech  in  words  commencing 
with  vowels.  In  ordinary  utterance  every  syllable  really  commences 
with  a  consonant.  When  words  are  supposed  to  begin  with 
vowels,  the  "Throat  shut  "  consonant  really  precedes  the  vowel 
sound,  although  it  is  not  usually  recognized  as  an  element  of  speech 
by  orthoepists.  Pronounce  with  considerable  force  the  names  of  the 
five  vowel  letters  a,  c,  i,o,  u.  A  closure  of  the  glottis  takes  place 
before  each  vowel,  excepting  the  last.  The  "Throat  shut"  conso- 
nant precedes  the  vowels  a,  e,  ',  and  0;  but  «  is  preceded  by  the 
consonant  .r.  Indeed,  the  name  of  the  vowel  might  have  been 
spelled  you  without  affecting  the  pronunciation.  The  "Throat 
shut"  consonant,  followed  by  a  forcible  emission  of  air  from  the 
lungs,  is  familiar  to  every  one  in  the  form  of  a  cough. 

The  meaning  of  the  throat  symbols  shown  in  the  seventh  line, 
is  explained  to  deaf  children  in  the  following  way: 

1.  Touch  the  throat,  and  then  hold  the  two  hands  together  palm 
to  palm,  curving  the  lingers  so  as  to  cause  the  space  between  the 
hands  to  assume  the  shape  of  the  first  symbol.  The  idea  to  be 
conveyed  is,  that  the  aperture  in  the  throat  is  somewhat  of  that 
shape,  and  very  large. 

2.  Touch  the  throat,  and  then  hold  the  hands  together  palm  to 
palm,  as  before,  but  reduce  the  space  between  the  hands  so  as  to 
cause  the  aperture  to  assume  the  shape  of  the  second  symbol.     The 


4 


CHART    III 


3    U    o    C 

3  Ciu)  (D  e 

3 


c 


n 


c 

:3  u  n  c 
c3  aj  (^  e: 

o  0  I   r 


I 


<5i 

idea  to  be  conveyed,  is  that  the  aperture  in  the  throat  is  more  con- 
traded  than  in  the  former  case. 

3.  Touch  the  throat,  and  hold  th.,-  hands  together  palm  to  palm. 
a>  before,  so  that  the  aperture  between  the  hands  is  reduced  to  a 
mere  slit.  At  the  same  time  give  a  quivering  or  trembling  motion 
to  the  hands.  The  idea  to  be  conveyed,  is  that  the  aperture  in  the 
throat  !s  a  mere  slit,  and  that  a  trembling  or  quivering  motion  occurs 
m  the  throat  which  the  pupil  may  perceive  for  himself  by  placing 
his  hand  upon  the  teachers  throat  while  the  teacher  produces  voice 

4.  Touch  the  throat,  and  then  press  the  two  hands  together 
palm  to  palm,  with  a  shutting  action,  causing  the  hands  to  assume 
the  appearance  of  the  fourth  symbol  in  the  seventh  line. 

We  r^iay  translate  these  gestures  into  words,  and  give  names  to 
these  symbols,  in  the  following  manner:— 

Seventh  line.-..    Thro.it    open.    2.    Throat    contraded.     3 
Throat  a-slit  fVoice).     4.  Throat  shut. 

CHART   IV. 

When  we  comp;  -e  the  symbols  shown  on  Charts  H.  and  III 
with  those  on  Chart  V..  we  notice  a  radical  difference  between  them' 
The  most  prominent  feature  of  the  symbols  on  Charts  II.  and  III   is 
^yurve  of  some  sort,  whereas  the  charaaeristic  of  those  on  Chart 
V.  .s  a  straight  line-.     By  reference  to  Chart  I.  it  will  be  seen  that  a 
urve  .s  mdicafve  ol  sume  part  of  the  mouth,  and  that  a  straight 
l.ne  represents  voice.     The  symbols  on  Charts  II.  and  III.  represent 
positions  ot  the  organs  that  yield  consonant,  and  those  on  Chart  V 
positions  that  vield  vowel,  sounds.     The  generic  difference  between 
eonsonants  ami  vowels  is  thus  portrayed  in  the  svmbols.     In  conso- 
nansymbcWs  the  mouth  position  is  made  the  charaaeristic    I     e 
of   he  symbol,  the  voice  where  it  occurs  being  written  subordin 
.e^.^  a  straight  line  wi-hin  the  curve.     In  votel  symbo^^te 
other  hand,  the  voice  sign  is  made  the  charadoristic  feature   and  the 
■nouth  position  is  repre.sented  subordinately  by  curves   or' dots  o 
other  marks  appended  to  the  voice  line.     ClL'lV.Tus       fo    the 
Panose  0    explaining  to  deaf  children  the  meaning  of  ,.1  ^^ 

tfn,  "     P'"^  ''^  '^'  ^^"^'"'^  ^'"P'«ved  in  forming  vowel 

=^ounds  are  the  back  and  the  front  parts  of  the'  tongue.      W  hen  w 

of  th.  Ime  rests  on  the  back  of  the  tongue.     In   vowel  symbols  a 


H 


•CHART    IV 


•* 


n  J  ni  L  fi 


65 

mark  on  the  right-hand  side  of  the  voice  line  indicates  the  front  pjrt 
of  the  tongue,  a  inailc  on  the  left  indicates  the  back  ol  the  tongue, 
and  a  short  horizontal  line  drawn  acro.ss  the  vowil  stem  indicates 
that  the  lips  are  employed.  Thus  the  symbols  .it  the  bottnm  ol 
Chart  IV'.  indicate  (i)  the  voice;  (2)  the  back  of  the  tonjiue;  (3) 
the  back  of  the  tongue;  (4)  both  back  and  front  of  the  tonjfue 
used  simultaneously;  [this  is  what  my  father  terms  a  "'mi-xed' 
position),  (si)  Back  and  front  ["mi.\ed'  |;  (6)  back  and  front 
I  "mixed"]:  (7)  the  (ront  of  the  tongue;  (X)  the  front  of  the 
tongue;  (q)  the  lips. 

It  will  be  observed  that  the  appendages  are  placed  sometimes 
at  the  top  of  the  vovvcl  stem,  sometimes  at  the  bottom,  and  some- 
limcs  at  both  ends.    This  pictures  the  elevation  of  the  tongue  in  the 
mouth.     When  the  mark  is  at  the  top  of  the  vowel  stem  the  part 
of  the  tongue  indicated  is  placed  high  up  in  the  mouth,  leaving  a 
small  aperture  between  the  tongue  and  the  palate;  when  the  m.-rk 
IS  .It  the  bottom  the  tongue  is  low  with  a  large  aperture;  and  when 
the  mark  is  at  both  ends  the  tongue  occupies  an  intermediate  posi- 
tion with  an  intermediate  aperture.     Reading  again  the  symbols  at 
the  bottom  of  Chart  IV..  we  have  (1)  the  voice;   (2)  back  of  the 
tongue  high;  (3)  back  of  the  tongue  low;  (4)  back  .md  front  both 
high  ["high  mixed];  {■-,)  back  and  front  both  mid  positions  ["mid 
mixed  '];  (6)  back  and  front  both  low  [  "low  mixed  "  ];  (7)  front 
low;  (8)  front   high;  (g)  this  symbol  means  not  only  that  the  lips 
are  used  but  that  ihe  aperture  between  the  1  is  of  a  rounded   form. 
The  deaf  child  is  taught  to  indicate  the  small  aperture  formed 
by  the  high  position  of  the  tongue,  by  holding  his  thumb  and  fore- 
finger close  together  without  touching.     (This  is  the  same  sign  for- 
merly described  as  meaning  "centre  aperture.")     The  low  tongue 
position  with  large  aperture,  is  indicated  by  holding  the  linger  and 
thumb  far  apart. ;  and  the  intermediate  position  is  represented  by  a 
half-way  position  of  the  thumb  .md  forefinger.      Thus,  degrees  of 
aperture  are  indicated  by  degrees  of  separation   of  the  thumb  and 
the  forefinger. 

We  are  now  prepared  to  analyze  the  symbols  on  Chart  V. 
CHART  v.— Vowels. 

The  vowels  on  Chart  V.  may  be  divided  into  four  groups  of 
nine  symbols  each : — 

First  Gkoi  p.— Pi  iniary  t^our/s. 
Reading  downwards  we  have:— 


if' 


66 

Wo '??•■"•  "'«"  ^''^'    '■  ^'<1  B.ck.    y  Low  Back 
J!""?^.  ""'-'•"'«»«  Mixed.    ..Mid  Mixed.    Tlow  Mixed 
Third  ime.-..  High  Front.    .  Mid  From.     ,.  low  Front 
Second  GRovp.—iVije  yoweis. 
Reading  downwards  we  have  — 

Third  Group. ~p„„iarv  Round  f^owHs. 
Readihr  downwards  we  have-— 

'"To^M-iJS:,"'-^^-^-^--'^  Mixed  Round., 

Th.rd  Line.-,    High  Front  Round.     ..  Mid  Front  Round     3 
Low  Front  Round.  "^uunu.    , 

Fourth  GRoup.-lVuie  Round  bowels. 
Reading  downwards  we  have  — 

First  line.-,.  High  Back  Wide  Round,     a.  Mid  Back  Wide 
Round.     ,  Low  Back  Wide  Round 

Wide  Round.    ,     Low  Mixed  Wide  Round. 

RoL"';  "!'''  c™"'  '^''•^  '^°""''-     ^-  '^'■'^  Front  Wid. 
Round.     ,  Low  Front  Wide  Round. 

Wide  vowels  differ  from  primary  vowels  by  a  slight  vvidenin,. 

wur    /A    tT      T'^'  "''  ^'"^  "'^'^'^  ^^°"^  wide' vowel  (,  inTh 

and  Pro7'MeIvirR^?lT  '"  ^'^  '^""  '^  ^""^'^^'y  '-ger  than  for « 

the  clTv  0   the     :    ''''  ''"  '"'■^  ^'^^  '^'^"^  P^«  °f  ^^-^  -o"^h 
or  fne  cavity  of  the  pharynx,   is  more  expanded  in  wide  vowels 

n  tead  of  a  dot.     Groups  III.  and  IV.  are  rounded  vowels  thatT 
the  passage  between  the  lips  is  of  a  rounded  form 

ment':it"t:r?bTnrc;:nTv^^"^r  '^"^'"^ '''  ^'^"^  ^-''y 

for  the  symbols Tnctf V 1  roll'orsi  "^  "^^  '""""  ^'"^  ^'^'^ 


First  Group.— /Viiwary  yawtts. 
Reading  downwards  we  have: — 

First  line.— I.    Voice.   Back  small-aperture,     a.  Voice,   Back 

mid-aperture,     y  Voice,  Back  l;irge-aperture. 
Second  line.— i.  Voice,  Back  small- aperture.  Front  small-aper- 
ture.    3.  Voice,  Back  niid-apcrture,    Front  mid-aperture. 
}.  Voice,  Back  large-aperture,  Front  large-aperture. 
Third  line.— I.  Voice.  Front  small-aperture,     a.  Voice,   Front 
mid-aperture.     }.  Voice,  Front  large-aperture. 
Srr.oND  Gnov  )'.—Widt  ycrwe/s. 

In  teaching  de.if  children,  the  symbols  of  this  group  are  con- 
sidered as  identic;il  with  those  of  Group  I.,  and  are  described  in  the 
s.ime  manner.  When  the  pupils  have  become  familiar  with  the 
analysis  of  Visible  Speech  symbols,  they  are  shown,  by  means  of 
the  thumb  and  forefinger,  that  the  position  symbolized  in  Group  II. 
have  a  slightly  wider  aperture  than  the  corresponding  positions  in 
Group  I. 

Prof.  Melville  Bell's  conception  of  the  expansion  of  the  pharynx 
during  th?  utterance  of  wide  vowels,  is  a  difficult  one  to  convey  to 
deaf  children  who  know  no  language;  I  have,  therefore,  not  at- 
tempted to  do  more  than  convey  the  idea  that  the  mouth  passage 
fcr  wide  vowels,  is  slightly  wider  than  for  primary  vowels,  so  that 
the  primary  and  wide  symbols,  taken  together,  represent  si\  degrees 
of  aperture;  for  example:  Take  the  front  vowels,  commencing 
with  the  smallest  aperture  and  ending  with  the  largest,  we  have  the 
following  series  of  apertures : — 

I.  High  Front. 

a.  High  Front  Wide. 

}.  Mid  Front. 

4.  Mid  Front  Wide. 

5.  Low  Front. 

ft.   Low  Front  Wide. 

Third  Grow.— Primary  Round  bowels. 
Reading  downwards  we  have: — 

First  line.— I.  Voice,  Back  small-aperture.  Lip,  small-aperture. 
2.  Voice,  Back  nud-aperture,  Lip  mid-aperture.  3.  Voice 
Back  largL -aperture,  Lip  large-aperture. 

.Second  line.— I.  Voice,  Bad  small-aperture.  Front  small-aper- 
ture, Lip  small-aperture.  3.  Voice,  Back  mid-aperture. 
Front  mid-apertuie,  Lip  mid-aperture.  ).  Voice,  Back 
large-aperture.  Front  I  irge-aperture.  Lip  large-aperture. 


•CHART    V- 


■I  t 


II  • 


«  uv, 


«9 

Third  hnc— I.  Voice,  Front  small- jperturc.  Lip  imall-ap«rture. 

3.  Voice,  Front  mid-apcrtute,  t.ip  mid-aperture.     i.  Voice, 

Front  largc-apcrture,  l.ip  l.ir«e-aperturc. 

1  he  labial  apertures  described  are  of  a  rounded  form,  but  as  the 

pupils  cm  see  for  themselves  the  shape  of  the  labial  apertures,  it 

h.is  not  been  considered  necessary  to  Rive  them  .1  distinct  sign  for 

I  rounded  aperture;  they  simply  describe  the  sitt  of  aperture  by 

thi-  separation  of  linger  and  thumb. 

FoiKTH  CjRot  I'.— U^/./t'  Round  k'meels. 

In  teaching  deaf  children,  the  symbols  of  this  group  are  con- 
sidered as  identical  with  those  of  Group  ill.,  and  are  described  in  a 
similar  manner.  The  differ.,  'ices  are  explained  later  on.  The  sym- 
bols of  Group  IV.  bear  the  .sume  relation  to  those  of  Group  III.,  that 
the  symbols  of  Group  II.  bear  to  those  of  Group  I.  (See  ne'e  above 
relating  to  Group  II. 

CHART  VI. 

Chart  VI.  shows  the  mechanism  or  the  English  consonants  as 
explained  to  the  deal. 

P/'rst  line: — 

(1)  "Lip  shut."  followed  by  a  "puflT  of  air."  We  have  here 
two  symbols,  the  first  of  which  (Lip  shut),  represents  /«.  as  in  put, 
cup,  etc.  It  is  not  advisable  to  teach  "shut"  consonants  .ns  sepa- 
rate c!i  ments.  They  are  best  taught  in  connection  with  vowels. 
The  nil  ,t  elementary  form  of  /»  taught,  is  the  final  p,  as  in  cup, 
where  the  "Lip  shut"  position  is  followed  by  a  puff  ol  air,  as 
shown  in  the  Chart. 

(a)  "Lip  shut.  Voice,"  followed  by  "voice."  The  first  of 
these  symbols  (Lip  shut,  voice),  represents  b  in  but.  cub,  etc.  This 
is  not  taught  elementarily,  luit  in  connection  with  a  vowel.  The 
simplest  form  is  that  shown  in  the  Chart  where  the  "Lip  shut. 
Voice  ■  position  is  followed  by  an  indefinite  murmur  of  voice,  form- 
ing a  syllable  somewhat  like  bir  in  bird. 

(3)  "Lip  shut,  Voice,  Nose."  represents  m  in  man,  conw,  etc. 

(4)  "Lip  dividid-aperture,  ■  represents  / in  file,  luff,  etc.  The 
upper  organ  in  this  case  is  the  edge  ot  the  teeth,  instead  of  the 
upper  lip. 

Second  line: — 

(I)  "Point  .shut,  idllo  wed  by  "a  puff  of  air."  The  first  sym- 
bol (Point  shut),  represents  /  as  in  to,  not,  etc.  When  /  occurs  as  a 
final  letter,  as  in  no!,  the  '  Point  shut "  position  is  followed  by  a 
puif  ol  air,  as  shown  in  the  Chart. 


mn?. 


MiaoCOPY   «SOlUTWN   TRT  CHART 

(ANSI  and  ISO  TEiT  CHART  No    21 


^  d^PUiajM^GE 


'653    Easi    Morn    Street 
("6)   288  -  5989  -  Fox 


70 


111 

"si 


J 

I 


-V  I 

if 

ft  i 


(a)  "Point  shut,  Voice,"  followed  by  "Voice."  The  first 
symbol  (Point  shut.  Voice),  represents  d,  as  in  do,  nod,  etc.  In  the 
symbols  shown  in  the  Chart,  the  "Point  shut,  Voice"  position  is 
followed  by  an  indefinite  murmur  of  voice,  thus  representing  a  syl- 
lable somewhat  like  dir  in  dirh. 

(3)  "  Point  shut,  Voice,  Nose  "  represents  n,  as  in  no,  nun,  etc. 

(4)  "Lip  divided-aperture.  Voice"  represents  v,  as  in  vie, 
love,  etc. 

Third  line: — 

(1)  "  Back  shut"  followed  by  a  "puff  of  air."  The  first  sym. 
bol  (Back  shut),  represents  k,  as  in  key,  sick,  etc.  When  k  occurs 
as  a  final  letter,  as  in  sick,  the  "  Back  shut"  positibn  is  followed  by 
a  puff  of  air,  as  shown  in  the  Chart. 

(2)  "Back  shut,  Voice,"  followed  by  •'Voice."  The  first  o 
these  symbols  ( Back  shut,  Voice,  represents  g,  as  in  go.  log,  etc. 
The  "  Back  shut,  Voice  "  position  is  followed  by  an  indefinite  mur- 
mur of  Voice,  forming  a  syllable  somewhat  like  gir  in  !;ir/. 

(})  "Back  shut,  Voice,  Nose,"  represents  tig,  as  in  /ung, 
tongue,  etc. 

(4)  "Lip  centre-nperture.  Back  centre-aperture,"  represents  wh, 
as  in  wfiet.  It  is  taught  to  the  deaf  as  "Back  centre-aperture" 
(German  ch),  with  the  lips  rounded  as  in  the  ad  of  whistling.  In 
obtaining  this  sound  from  a  deaf  child,  it  is  found  essential  to  dired 
attention  to  the  "  Back  centre-aperture  position.  ' 

Fourth  line: — 

(i)  "Point  divided-aperture,  Voice"  represents  /,  in  lull. 

(2)  "Point  divided-aperture.  Front  centre-aperture  "  represents 
th  as  in  thin,  kith,  etc. 

(5)  "  Point  divided-aperture,  Front  centre-aperture,  Voice  "  rep- 
resents fh  as  in  then,  with,  etc. 

(4)  "  Lip  centre-aperture.  Back  centre-aperture,  Voice  "  repre- 
sents u<  in  the  word  wet.     In  teaching  the  deaf  it  is  essential  to  dire(f> 
attention  to  the  "Back  centre  aperture "  position,  and  the  sound  is 
taught  as  identical  with  the  vowel  00  in  pool. 
Fifth  line:— 

(i)  "Point  centre-aperture,  Front  centre-aperture"  represents 
s,  as  in  sown,  hiss,  etc. 

(j)  "Point  centre-aperture.  Front  centre-aperture,  Voice,  rep- 
resents ^  in  {one,  and  s  in  his. 


#s 


.11 

•J  i 


o 

•CHART    VI- 

01  9  3 

o> 

Ql  05  3 

a=> 

ai  G  D 

U) 

U  U  3 

u 

u  n  ^ 

o 

<T)    (J    Ci.) 

o 

i  M 

«.ch  a  wor,,  ,s  ,*;..;.";;,:h;,i,„!;;'° """"  •'"  ■  ^-'  '^">  ■  - 

(4)  "Front  ccntrt-:.pemire.  Point  centre-aoerture   Voi-   •• 
resents  s  in  fmisinr.  und  ,-  in  a-,m-     If     h      ,  '"'^" 

''fter  ••  Point  shut  Voice  "  in  Zrh  .     "^  '"  ^  '"^  '"  '^  ^^^'"'' 

tl--  consonant,,  it  rnav  be  rep  'nted  b  '  Z^"""'-"'  ^--  «> 
non-vocal  consonants"  -.s  in  ^  7r  ,  '  "  '^  «'s«  occurs  after 
(k,7,oo).  '"   ■^'''   ^^•■"^'^^   ^'""'  (trAoon),   .,r. 

.-/1n^'"cl^ttS"•?••  ''"""  "'^^^■^'-'"'^-»'  '"  ^'-  -rd 
vowel  ..  '       '  '^'"'^  '^  '^  ""■""^^•'•^•J  ='^  '•d'-'ntical  with  the 

CHART   VII. 

(4)  "High   Front   Wide"   reoresent^   th. 
I'tiihi,  etc.  represents   the  vowel  heard  in  ;//. 

Second  line: — 


1) 

(a)  "Mid  rrom,"  followed  by  a  glide  tow.irds  "  Hi«h  hVont," 
r  presents  the  diphthongal  vowel  heard  in  ,//<•.  <j/7,  ei){lit,  great,  ioy. 
they,  etc. 

Third  line: — 

(i)  "Low  Back  Wide,  Round"  represents  the  vowel  heard  in 
doll,  what,  etc. 

(a)  "Low  Back,  Round "  represents  the  vowel  heard  in  all, 
Paul,  paw,  thought,  etc. 

(5)  " Low  Front"  represents  the  vowel  heard  in  shell,  head, 
said,  etc. 

(4)  "Low  Front  Wide  "  represents  the  vowel  heard  in  shall,  hat, 
Ci  n.  and,  etc. 

Fourth  line: — 

(1)  "Low  Back  Wide"  represents  the  vowel  heard  in  ah, 
father,  etc. 

(2)  "Mid  Back  Wide"  represents  the  vowel  heard  in  ask, 
path,  etc. 

(3)  "Low  Mixed  Wide"  represents  the  vowel  heard  in  her, 
pearl,  girl,  fur,  etc. 

(4)  "Mid  Back"  represents  the  vowel  heard  in  gull,  come, 
rough,  etc. 

Fifth  line: — 

(1)  "Mid  Back  Wide,"  followed  by  a  glide  towards  "High 
Front,"  represents  the  diphthongal  vowel  heard  in  pile,  sleight,  buy, 
eye,  etc. 

(2)  "Mid  Back  Wide,"  followed  by  a  glide  towards  "  High  Back 
Round,"  represents  the  diphthongal  vowel  heard  in  cow,  bough, 
round,  etc. 

(3)  "Low  Back  Round,"  followed  by  a  glide  towards  "High 
Front,"  represents  the  diphthongal  vowel  heard  in  oil,  boy,  etc. 

The  sound  of  h  only  occurs  before  a  vowel,  and  it  is  advisaole 
to  give  the  deaf  pupil  the  idea  that  there  are  as  many  sounds  of  h  as 
there  are  vowel  sounds.  Defeaive  pronunciation  results  from  the 
attempt  to  give  a  uniform  value  to  the  sound.  The  deaf  pupil  is 
t;"«jrht  that  the  mouth  position  for  h  is  always  the  same  as  that  of 

.ucceeding  vowtl;  in  fad,  that  h  is  the  breath  form  of  the 
.succeeding  vowel.     For  example:    Contrast  h  in  he,  with  that  in 


•CHART    Vll' 


U  I  f 


)i 


r 


nil 
i )  1 J 

)'  h  if 


11    i 


7? 

who  (hoo).  In  the  former  case  the  mouth  position  lor  A  is  the 
same  as  that  for  the  vowel  ee,  in  the  latter  it  is  the  same  as  that  for 
the  vowel  oo. 

Do  you  describe  the  word  "Mixed?" 

We  do  not  use  the  word  "Mixed"  in  teaching  the  deaf,  but 
describe  in  detail  the  positions  that  are  mixed.  Thus,  we  describe 
my  father's  "  Lip-mixed  "  consonant  as  "Lip  centre-aperture,  Back 
centre-aperture." 

What  do  you  mean  by  "divided-aperture?" 

An  aperture  divided  in  the  middle  so  as  to  leave  two  orifices. 
For  example:  In  assuming  the  position  for  the  letter  /  (00),  the  point 
of  the  tongue  is  placed  against  the  upper  gum,  and  the  air  passes 
out  over  both  sides  of  the  tongue. 

Can  a  person  realize  by  any  feeling  the  muscular  condition 
represented  by  your  symbols? 

Certainly.  Familiarity  with  fie  organs  through  the  use  of  .1 
mirror  leads  to  a  perception  of  muscular  feeling  of  the  positions 
assumed  by  the  vocal  organs.  Indeed,  in  talking  we  are  all  guided 
more  or  less  by  muscular  feeling.  For  example,  we  can  talk  with- 
out making  any  noise  so  that  a  deaf  pupil  can  understand  what  we 
say  by  watching  the  mouth.  How  do  we  know  that  our  vocal 
organs  are  in  the  corred  position  when  we  make  no  sound?  Surely 
by  muscular  feeling.  The  deaf  child  also,  through  training,  becomes 
conscious  of  the  movements  of  his  vocal  organs  and  can  tell  by 
muscular  feeling  exadly  what  he  does. 

Why  do  you  begin  with  lip  positions  instead  of  back  positions? 

The  lip  positions  are  the  most  visible.  The  deaf  child  under- 
stands what  the  symbols  mean  when  applied  to  the  lips,  because  he 
can  see  the  positions  assumed.  This  knowledge  he  applies  to  the 
interior  positions  that  cannot  be  so  easily  seen. 

Now  in  teaching  a  deaf  child  you  present  to  him  the  symbol 
for  some  difficult  sound.  If  he  has  been  taught  to  analyze  the  sym- 
bols in  the  manner  shown,  the  symbol  conveys  to  his  mind  a 
direftion  what  to  do  with  his  mouth.  That  is  what  your  pupil  has 
to  aim  at,  but  in  ninety-nine  rases  out  of  a  hundred  he  may  not 
get  it,  at  least  at  the  first  shot.  Now  what  are  you  going  to  do? 
Are  you  going  to  say  "No,  no!  that's  not  right.  Try  again?"  Let 
him  try  .ice  more  and  the  chances  are  that  he  fails  again  to  give 
the  sound  intended.  The  No-No  method  only  aggravates  the 
difficulty  by  discouraging  the  pupil  and  disgusting  him  with 
articulation. 


76 
you  do  try  again      Th-    ,^' "«'''•     Tryagam."    w,./i    "^  "  ^'^'^ 

of  the  pojition  struck  to  th.  •.  „  ^'/a/Z^o:  and  the  r«i  . 

;-  -;  -.%.o ..  o„e  ^i/:::sr:x  -  0-. 


m 

St ' 


:»r-?-'.w 


77 

I  will  now  answer  some  of  the  quiNtions  th.tt     ave  been  pro- 
pi  mnded  to  me. 

The  first  question  is:  What  is  accent? 

I  h:ive  found  in  my  past  experience  ih;it  accent  is  length.  At 
l-MSt  that  we  get  a  more  natural  effecl  from  a  deaf  child  i(  we  give 
him  the  idea  of  making  the  accent -d  syllable  longer  than  the  others 
rather  than  louder.  The  attempt  to  make  the  accented  syllables 
louder  often  leads  to  a  jerky  utterance  very  unlike  the  effed  we  desire. 
To  make  my  meaning  clear  I  will  say  that  I  do  not  think 
that  we  give  a  jerk  of  the  abdominal  muscles  for  every  accented 
syllable,  any  more  than  the  piper  gives  a  jerk  of  the  arm  to  mark 
the  accented  notes.  The  pressure  upon  the  bag  is  continuous 
.-'nd  the  rhythm  of  the  music  is  brought  out  by  the  dif- 
fering durations  of  the  notes.  Of  course  the  music  may  be 
made  louder  or  softer  by  increasing  or  diminishing  the  pressure 
upon  the  bag.  but  this  etfeii  corresponds  more  to  emphasis  than 
to  accent. 

The  fad  that  the  efTeft  of  accent  can  be  produced  by  length- 
ening the  duration  of  a  syllable,  without  any  change  in  the  loud- 
ness or  volume  of  the  voice  may  be  demonstrated  by  a  simple 
experiment. 

Let  a  deaf  child  prolong  the  voice  while  you  manipulate  his 
lips  so  as  to  produce  SI 81  SI  81,  etc.  (Mama,  mama,  etc.)  Now, 
although  he  makes  no  variation  in  the  loudness  of  his  voice  you 
can  with  your  fingers  produce  the  efTec'l  of  accent  by  prolonging 
the  £•  liable  you  desire  to  bring  out.  For  example:  If  you  prolong 
the  open  position  you  can  make  him  say  9183  818],  etc.  (Mama. 
P  ^  in  the  English  way  with  the  accent  on  the  second  syl- 

1.  .  ^1  8381, etc.,  with  the  accent  on  the  first  syllable,  as  is 

\     V  ■     <     inly  heard  in  America. 

..,■■  you  may  ask,  "May  not  syllibles  containing  short 
vowels  be  accented,  and  how  can  you  prolong  the  syllable  if  the 
vowel  is  short?" 

Certainly,  syllables  of  this  kind  can  be  accented.  In  such  cases 
you  do  not  prolong  the  vowel  but  the  succeeding  consonant.  For 
example:  You  can  by  manipulation  cause  your  pupil  to  say  81838 
©1838,  etc.,  (mamum,  mamOm,  etc.),  by  prolonging  the  closed 
position  of  the  lips  instead  of  the  open. 

There  is  a  great  ^oint  here.  Short  vowels  are  succeeded  by 
long  consonants;  for  example:  the  consonant  position  is  retained 


-"•*^'.X^-'^^- 


78 
'-e   your  pupils  pronounce  wifh  n  '^  s«^n(ence. 

•  'IT]  sorry  i  h  jv 

"ocal  forms  o  a„j  „    7«'    '  »l«ys  commence  w/,h  T 

S"  d  central  aperture.   Deaf 


'^MW^^.  "tWf  .f»S.  ^'t^*  ▼'^::^¥^*  ^  'M 


4w^ 


ir 


79 

children  acquire  the  sound  very  readily  by  imitation,  as  the  wholt 
mechanism  can  be  seen  in  a  mirror.  In  any  case  of  difficulty  I 
niiinipulate  the  sound  from  U  (/// )  or  O  (s)  in  the  manner  described 
to  you  the  other  day.  It  is  quite  unnecessary  to  attempt  a  "  trill" 
that  is,  to  cau.sc  a  vibr.ition  or  trembling  of  the  point  of  the  tongue. 
.Such  an  i-ffcct  is  un-Hnj{lish. 

Tb.-  defct'tive  v.iriety  of  r  most  commonly  met  with  results 
Irom  pLicing  the  point  ul  the  tongue  too  f.ir  Kick  u\  the  mmsth.  For 
example:  It  is  olten  applied  to  t  e  t  .n  of  the  hard  p.:late  ( U)M ;  and 
in  some  cases  it  is  coiled  up  within  the  mouth  so  as  to  approximate 
the  soft  pal.ite  (  «' ) 

The  defet'tive  form  of  .  so  common  in  schools  for  the  di  af 
results  from  an  e-xaggerated  narrowing  of  the  tongue  (Wv)  (too  large 
aperture)  and  from  opening  the  jaws  too  widely. 

Sometimes  the  tip  of  the  tongue  is  placed  against  the  upper 
teeth  and  the  under  side  of  the  tongue  is  ac\u.iily  protruded  from  the 
mouth. 

The  corret't  position  for  (0  {/)  fs  so  nearly  the  same  as  that  for 
«(«)  that  the  deaf  have  difficulty  in  distinguishing  one  from  the 
other  by  the  eye.  This  leads  some  children  to  substitute  QD  for  (t)  in 
for  /). 

In  forming  CO  (/).  the  point  of  tiie  tongue  should  be  placed 
against  the  upper  gum,  and  a'r  allowed  to  escape  through  two  side 
apertures.  The  lingual  position  for  W  («)  is  the  same,  excepting 
that  the  two  side  apertures  are  closed.  Thus,  the  tongue  appears 
slightly  broader  for  »  ( « )  than  for  (0  (/).  The  exaggerated  narrow- 
ing  of  the  tongue  so  commonly  associated  with  /  results  in  side 
apertures  that  are  much  too  large.  This  defed  is  avoided,  if  you 
commence  by  teaching  the  sound  non-vocally  (Q)  with  quite  small 
side  apertures.  Even  pupils  who  give  n  for  /  readily  acquire  .i.e 
non-voc:H  form  (W).  After  this  has  once  been  mastered,  the  vocal 
form  follows  as  a  matter  of  e  by  the  addition  of  voice  (CO). 

Even  though  W  and  «  ^ ,  and  /)  may  be  given  corredly  as  ele 
mentaty  sounds,  deaf  children  produce  an  effea  that  is  not  heard  in 
ordinary  utterance  when  they  attempt  to  give  these  sounds  after 
non-vocal  consonants.  Thus,  OU)f  (tree),  ftCOlD>  (sleep),  etc. 
sound  as  if  there  were  two  -yllables  in  e:'ch  word,  and  if  any'defeft 
of  combination  exist,  the  vccality  of  the  r  or  /  causes  the  introduc- 
tion of  a  voice  glide  after  the  non-  ocal  consonant.  Thus,  CDlWf, 
f5lC0fD>  (tCiree,  suleep),  etc. 


'w,'*i''"'<igy^@^b'ty'  •'<!% 


^d^WLV^MM-'yi^&M^ 


So 
Ouro-  (..„.  uLlTI,,  .  ;  ■■••n-v.H.irv.     Thus,  oof 

n^-cubr  e  Jt.  how  veM  .0/'  'T''"'""'  '"  •''^"'  The  ver- 
.he  soun.  non-vocXx,  nd  ;";;h'T  rK^'"  ''''  '''  '«  «'- 
and  aol  (,wh-cntv  .md  k-hue)  l"J  m  ."'  """"P'*'  ^^^"^^^ 
inK  Jcr  chddren  to«ivc  //  ^,n  !  ^"'f  •''J"Pt  t.Sc  rule  of  .cch- 
«>.  where   they  follow  Hon  voca    1  "'  ^"■^  ' "'  ""  '^'  '«"'' 

'or  example,  in  sud,  wo  d    .  " X'  "r""""  '"  '^' "'"^  »>  liable. 

^'^V.  fl..y.  slay;  ,...,„.  quetn  Vw,  n    pe^'/'''  ''"''■  "''"■"''=  '^'"V 
sue.  '      "•  ■''^""'  r«w.  tune,  cute,  few.  thews, 

-ci '  thin.  It  w::;^:;::  H:;rr;:rf  "^  '^^  ^^^'-^^^ - 

•simple  expedient  by  which  the  eT^'l      u       ^°"'  '"''""°"  •«  ^' 
example  .-take  such  words  a!   ov  '^    "  '""'"''  *'"P'°^^^-     F"r 

-    when  they  occurChei:::'  oTl^^riVl^r '  ^^ 
The  voca  tv  of  th^  i-i.t     1  °'  **  P'"^''s*?. 

Wuvs  instead  of  duv,)  .«     Wh"     J     ""'' '""'"'  »'  ""3B. 

*«')■  If  a  pupil  does  L.  S  ,"t  ''^r,"'°'"'  '"""  "  <*  '" 
('*)  O'  O  W  in  Hie  manner  iZlll  ^  ' '  "'""'l'"!"'  it  from  O 
Nen  well  fixed-,ha,  is  when  1  "  '"""*"•  ^"^  "  "» 
manipulation,  I  add  voice'  "' '      '"  *""'  "  '"'''y  '^l«»" 

«  M.  """  ""  '"  '  ""  "■  «•"•  "  P"fl-"y  ,K.  same  ,„„,, 


Vlj^ 


•l 


The  next  question  en  nty  list  is  this:— 
"  Please  demonstrate  the  teaching  of  /«  ia  cotton." 
In  this  worJ,  (QIOV)  the  sound  of  n  alone  (CB)  constitutes  a 
distina  syllable.  Indeed  B  (iii)  9  (n)  6  {ng)  and  also  W  (/,)  when 
prolonged,  are  in  reality  vowels.  That  is,  the  aperture  through 
which  the  voice  is  passed  is  so  large  as  to  be  non-obstructive.  We 
fail  to  hear  any  rustling  or  hissing  'r  puffing  sound  from  the  mouth 
position.  The  fricative  noise  which  is  charaderistic  of  a  consonant 
is  not  heard  excepting  at  the  momont  of  the  rci  nquishment  of  the 
position.  These  sounds  can  be  used  both  as  coiiionants  and  vow- 
els. If  the  positions  arc  assumed  only  momentarily  so  ih;il  the 
sound  of  the  removal  ul  the  position  is  the  chief  effect  perceived, 
then  we  recogni/e  the  sounds  as  conson.ir  dements  of  speech.  If 
on  the  other  hand  the  chief  efftiX  pirccived  is  due  to  the  retention 
of  the  position,  and  not  to  its  removal,  we  he.ir  only  a  quality  of 
voice,  that  is,  a  vowel  soun*'.  and  this  sound  may  constitute  a  di:.- 
tinft  syllable  by  itself. 

In  the  English  language  V  (/<)  and  (i)  (/)  are  often  employed  as 
vowels.  B  (m)  is  more  rarely  used,  B  (ng)  not  at  all.  A  vowelized 
9  (m)  is  not  usually  recognized  as  constituting  a  distindl  syllable  by 
itself,  but  surely  such  words  as  U)tU8  (rhythni)  and  litl^B  (schism) 
are  as  really  dis-syllabic  as  IOQ0  (ea'en),  QIOV  (cotton),  or  lOCi) 
(apple).  The  termination,  "ful,"  which  is  so  often  murdered  by 
deaf  children  is  pronounced  by  most  people  simply  as  3Ct)  (fl).  For 
example:  }3U  (awfl),  OWIO3C0  (dreadful),  BnlO£3&'  (beautiful), 
etc.  Surely  the  word  }3U  (awfl)  would  be  more  accept -ble  to 
ordinary  ears  than  the  }3l9«l(i}  pronunciation  commonly  hei  .'rem 
the  deaf. 

it  is  difficult  to  teach  the  sound  of  tn  in  such  a  word  as  cotton 
without  the  use  of  symbols.  The  pupil  associates  the  single  char- 
after  /  with  a  double  adion  of  the  organs  (D>).  Hence,  he  tries 
to  give  this  donble  atition  to  the  /  in  cotton;  that  is,  0>CD  for  OCO. 
The  vocality  of  the  C(J  («),  however,  usually  causes  him  to  t.iil  in  his 
aim.  so  that  the  puff  of  air  (>)  is  vocalized  (I).  Thus,  QJOICB.  In 
our  pronunciation  of  the  word  the  point  of  the  tongue  is  not 
w  moved  from  the  upper  gum  between  the  positions  for  /  and  n, 
ajOCD.  The  point-shut  position  is  common  to  the  two  sounds  OW. 
The  soft  palate  is  closed  against  the  back  of  the  pharynx  (□)  during 
the  produi^ion  of  the  /  and  drops  (C)  durin;;  the  production  of  the 


8j 


'H 


Rg.  .6.    Aaion  of  the  soft  palate  in  fo.ming  /„  ^W^   in  "cotton." 
First  Position.  0+0=0 

Second  Position.  C-f  0=C7 

~c>T(acr=oc? 
h.  al.a  °°;  at;  ;,on  and"/    ""  ""  ""  ""*  "«■""  "««« '" 
gainst. Ke  upper  gl.     O^^rjli+.'acococ  "  H'     ""'' 

of  them  quite  freauentlv  .nH  i  1    ,     u  "^''"*'  '^°"^^'  ^"'"e 

ta  difficult  cases  1  would  recommend  the  following  plan :    Give 


8j 

your  pupil  a  hand  mirror  and  teach  him  to  elevate  and  depress  his 
soft  palate  (DCOC,  etc.),  in  the  manner  described  in  mv  second 
leiture. 

When  he  can  do  this  at  will  without  looking  in  the  mirror,  ask 
him  to  repeat  the  exercise  with  his  lips  shut  all  the  time.  This 
results  in  D+(DCDCaC,  etc.)=DODDDO,  etc. 

Then  rep  't  the  c:;crcise  with  the  point  of  the  tongue  shut 
igainst  the  uppe  gum : 

0-h(acaCDC.  etc.,)=0CJDC30C?.  etc. 

Then  with  the  back  of  the  tongue  shut  against  the  soft  palate: 

a+(DCDCDc)=aaaaaa,  etc. 

Then  let  him  repeat  these  exercises  with  the  voice  sounded 
intermittently  through  the  nose: 

DSOS,  etc.  (pm,  pm,  etc.) 

OCeoCD.  etc.  (tn,  tn,  etc.) 

aeae,  etc.  (kng,  kng,  etc.) 
Then  with  the  voice  continuously  sounded: 

08B8,  etc.  (bm,  bm,  etc.) 

OOCOCO,  etc.  (dn.  dn,  etc.) 

eeee,  etc.  (gng.  gng,  etc.) 

If  a  pupil  is  taught  to  control  the  movement  of  his  soft  palate 
at  will,  such  combinations  as  that  of  In  in  cotton  will  present  no 
difficulty. 

[Dr.  Bell  here  illustrated  his  method  with  Mr.Kiesel]. 


i 


CONSONANTS. 


'  propose  in  my  letiur^  t,^      .    . 

consonants.  "^^  '^'^^  '°"«'der  first  the  defers  of  shut 

TheiabiaMetterr:""""^^^^-- 
'" '^-ing  ,  ..  „.  ,^,^;    •  ;;  -  not  liabie  to  errors  of  position 

ord'naryearandmay^therlTeTenl'^^^^^^^^^^  '°  "''  °«^nd  'he 
the  tongue  should  b;  placelLa  n^^K     '^''">'  '^-     ^"^  PO'nt  of 
^hut  against  the  teeth.  eventoTh;!       "'^'^  ^"'"'  ''"^itmay  be 
defeft  sufficient  to  attraa  the  a^  t  ol  0^'"°"  "''°"*  ^^^''"-"^  a 
teacher.     In  forming  ;t    ^   .7    i       ^"-^  °"^ ''"» ^n  articulation 
;"owed  so  long  as  the  poSti^Xf'' /''"'^'"^^^^  'atitude  maybe 
^;^^  the  ^ereaatonce^a^as   tltn'^r-   ^''-'tistoof 
you  try  to  form  a  ,,  with  yl  mo    hon      f  °""  '*^  ^°-^^^<i. 
S'ble.  you  will  find  it  very  difficuTf  r         ^  "'^  ''  ^''^^'y  ^s  pos- 
•nto  contact  with  the  soft  pala  "'''  '"^  ''^'^'^  ^^  the  tongue 

the  shutting  adion  lowe  Sow^bv  ^^  '""''  ""^  ^^^>'  to  produce 
the  tongue  to  the  back  of  th:Xynx    %T"'f'"'  «^^'^«  ^^  of 
sound  of  A  to  which  I  have  allM7/;.,:^P''°'^"«s  the  defeaive 
g'ven  by  deaf  children.       J,       te/,^K  '  ''''"'  '^"'t^  ^-'"-o  1 
to  the  mode  of  teaching.    Zltl'  -^  '''"'^  "^^'^  the  defed  is  due 
as  w.de,y  as  possible  to^hlw       ;'";:  T  ''' ''  °P^"  '''  -"  h 
^---tetheaaion.andth.=-^,Xhe:;:V^ 


8i 


low  a  position.  It  is  very  difficult  to  correit  a  position  that  is  too 
far  back.  I  think  the  best  way  is  to  teach  the  sound  anew  Take 
a  position  which  is  too  f.ir  forward,  for  example.  /  (O).  then  manip- 
ulate the  tongue.     The  same  remarks,  of  course,  apply  to  g  (€). 

The  shut  consonants,  though  generally  pronounced  well  by  deaf 
children,  are  liable  to  a  defe ft  of  a  very  extraordinary  nature.     In 
nearly  every  school  for  the  a>af  some  pupils  maybe  found  who 
give  clicks  in  place  of  these  consonants.     For  example:  p  will  be 
pronounced  like  the  sound  of  a  kiss,  and  /  like  the  clicking  sound 
we  make  as  a  sign  of  impatience,  or  like  the  cluck  with  which  we 
hurry  up  a  horse.     1  may  not  be  able  to  tell  you  exaftly  what  to  do. 
but  of  one  thing  you  may  be  sure. -the  first  step  in  the  correaion 
of  a  defea  is  to  understand  the  mechanism  of  the  defedive  sound.  . 
"Knowledge  is  power,"  and  when  we  know  the  nature  of  a  defeft 
ingenuity  will  find  a  remedy. 

The  first  step  then  is  to  study  the  mechanism  of  the  defedive 
sound.  How  are  you  to  investigate  it  .>  Imitate  the  defeftive  sound 
yourself,  and  then  study  your  own  vocal  organs. 

Your  pupil,  we  shall  suppose,  gives  a  kiss  instead  of  the  sound 
of  p.     Let  us  study  the  mechanism  together. 

When  the  lips  are  opened  you  observe  that  air  goes  into  the 
mouth  instead  of  coming  out.     Let  us  examine  into  the  cause. 

But  first,  let  us  express  by  means  of  symbols  and  diagrams  the 
condition  of  our  knowledge  at  each  stage  of  the  investigation,  so 
'hat  we  may  realize  as  clearly  as  possible  what  we  are  about. 


First  PoMtioii 


StconJ   Position. 


/n.  ^'rK^'"'^  '^"'^"""'"^  '"  ^'''«-  "•  '""strates  the  closure  of  the  lips 
(D)  The  second  shows,  by  means  of  an  arrow-head,  the  diredion 
ol  the  air  when  the  lips  are  opened  (<). 

Can  it  be  that  the  pupil  makes  an  effort  of  inspiration  while  he 
•s  trying  to  say  p  ?    How  can  we  satisfy  ourselves  on  this  point  ? 


86 

yet  to  be  determined.  'tThe   ylo  o    ^     V"  "  ""^  ^°'"'  ^^^ 
'•""-*y'"f'o'D<  now  becomes  D-9 1 
Repeat  the  kissing  sound  m.ny  times-D.  D-  n 

■■=  d.Zrm'™°"  ""  »"  *-  f™-  '^^ '    [.)  The  soft  pa.,. 

no  -ir^iXw^tr  xrr "°!:  '^-  ^^-'-^  '^^ 

Let  us  exDre«  thic  u        ,   ,         P""'^'^  ^"'^  '''e  '""gs- 
becomes  » +  [d<].  ^        ^'  ''"'^  the  symbol  0< 


;;j 


li 


•<3 


Fig.   I J 
First  Position. 

r.   ,   ^,  S'^'^ond  Position. 

'^  anything  further  to  be  discovered  ?  Th-  .  , 
If  no  other  constridion  exists  han!  I  ^"^  '^''  °"^  '^°'^^"t- 
there  must  be  an  open  pa  s  ge-waTi  1'  h^""  °"  ''^  "■^^"'"'  *'^^" 
and  air  should  escape  throuTthTm  u  "'°"'"  ^'""^  the  lungs. 
Does  it  do  so ?  We  knowf  d^^^lT^f  T " ^'™"^^  ^'^^  "-' 
air  enters  the  mouth  in  Just  tht  o^po  ,f  dla^^^  ?  ^^^^^ 

The  passage-way,  then    must  h.T^  '^"'edtion  [<  and  not   >J. 

soft  palate  and  the  lips     TLljT  '°".'"'"^  '^^^^^  thi 
P       What  organs  are  there  in  the  mouth  by 


!   if 


fi? 


which  the  closure  could  be  effected  ?  We  are  limited  in  our  choice 
to  the  point  of  the  tongue,  the  "top"  or  "front"  of  the  tongue, 
the  back  of  the  tongue,  or  to  intermediate  parts. 

If  you  repeat  the  .sound  of  a  kiss,  I  think  you  will  feel  that  the 
concealed  shut  position  must  be  pretty  fir  back  in  the  mouth.  Cer- 
tainly the  point  of  the  tongue  is  not  involved,  and  we  are  limited 
therefore  to  the  top  or  back  of  the  tongue,  with  the  probabilities  in 
favor  of  the  back.  How  can  you  decide  the  matter  ?  Make  a 
hypothesis,  and  then  experiment  upon  your  mouth  to  test  the  truth 
of  your  assumption.  For  example:  Assume  that  the  back  of  the 
tongue  is  shut  against  the  soft  palate  (Q).  Fill  in  this  position  upon 
the  diagrams.  Figure  12  now  becomes  Figure  13,  and  the  expres- 
sion S  ■+■  {0<)  becomes  Q  +  (D<) 


Fig.   IV 
First  Position.  Second  Position. 

(>  +  a  +  D)  (»-(-a-f-<)  =  a  +  (D<) 

Now  study  the  diagrams  and  the  symbols  and  try  to  establish 
some  relation  between  the  hypothetical  position  (G)  and  some  sound 
of  known  formation.  Then  experiment  upon  the  mouth  to  see  if 
that  relation  holds  good. 

Now  we  know  that  Q  -f- 1  =  e  (Hg). 

If  then  your  hypothetical  position  (Q)  is  correft,  you  should 
get  e  (tig),  by  adding  voice  to  a  kiss.     Test  the  matter.     Sound  the 
voice  continuously  while  you  repeat  the  sound  of  a  kiss : — 
i+a+  (0<  D<D<  etc.)=er(D<  D<  D<5  etc). 

You  at  once  recognize  the  familiar  effed  Q  (ng),  continuously 
sounded — like  the  drone  of  a  bagpipe — accompanied  by  the  equally 
familiar  sound  of  kissing.  This  is  proof  that  your  assumption  is 
lorredt. 


#1 


88 

The  defea.  then,  consists  in  .k 

w'ithout  voice  ra  whii    t       ^'  assumptio.    of  the  «^        • : 

-P^ned?  Th^faainj^^ Lester:  *':  '"-"'  -"-  the  ,.ps  are 
'""ns  that  the  cavity  of  the  '  'r';^"i  '''""'"  '^'^^  there  'tJ! 
shut  positions  were  as  umL  r  ''""  ''''^^^'^  whl  ,k 

^"^  ''«"'  moved  before 


-fO+l-f-O 


fi«. 


U- 


o+fa+rri)!] 


the  Zips  were  opened     a  "     ' 

""0    «   c,v,.y)   expresses  ,h=eft«?„/r""" '<"''•  gO'-g 


It     i 


89 

positions  assumed.  Hence:  O -f  (O^),  is  a  general  expression  and 
covers  any  change  «.  position  inside  the  mouth  that  wiU  produce  a 
partial  vacuum  there. 

As  a  clear  understanding  of  the  cause  of  the  click  etfeiX  in  this 
case  will  throw  light  upon  the  nature  of  clicks  in  general,  it  may 
be  well  to  show  some  specific  movement  of  the  tonfl;uc  that  will 
produce  the  efled.  For  example:  Suppose  that  the  front  of  the 
tc;iptue  is  elevated  in  the  position  for  e  in  eel  thus  f  (high  front) 
when  the  shut  positions  are  assumed.  (See  Fig.  14).  If  then  the 
front  of  the  tongue  is  lowered  into  the  position  for  e  in  pet  (as 
shown  by  a  dotted  line  in  Fig.  14)  thus  I  (low  front),  without 
changing  the  other  positions,  the  cavity  of  the  mouth  is  enlarged. 
As  a  partial  vacuum  then  exists,  air  will  rush  in  if  an  opening  is 
made  anywhere.     For  example: — 

1.  If  you  keep  the  back  of  the  tongue  closed  against  the  soft 
palate  and  open  the  lips,  air  will  rush  in  between  the  lips ;  Q  + 

(D-). 

2.  If  you  keep  the  lips  closed  and  op  ;n  the  passage-way  be- 
between  the  back  of  the  tongue  and  the  soft  palate,  air  will  rush  in 
the  cavity  from  behind  O  +  (G*). 

Suppose  again  that  instead  of  starting  with  the  tongue  elevated 
you  comnrience  with  it  depressed  I  (as  shown  by  dotted  line  Fig.  14,) 
and  then  elevate  the  tongue  into  the  position  for  e  in  ee\  f,  the  cavity 
between  the  two  shut  positions  is  reduced  in  size  and  the  contained 
air  compressed.    Then : — 

J.  If  you  keep  the  back  of  the  tongue  closed  against  the  soft 
palate  and  open  the  lips,  air  will  rush  out  of  the  cavity  through  the 
labial  aperture  0  -j-  (D>) ;  or 

4.  If  you  keep  the  lips  closed  and  open  the  passage-way  between 
the  back  of  the  tongue  and  the  soft  palate,  air  will  rush  out  of  the 
cavity  into  the  pharynx  D  -f  (0>). 

Numbers  1  and  2  are  suftion  clicks.  Numbers  }  and  4  are  ex- 
pulsion clicks.  Numbers  1  and  3  are  both  given  by  deaf  children 
inste.id  of  p  (D>). 

In  order  to  have  a  click  sound  it  is  necessary  that  you  should 
have  ;.  cavity  in  which  the  air  is  of  different  density  from  that  out- 
side. There  must,  therefore,  be  two  constridions  of  the  passage- 
way which  we  may  call  x,  y,  with  a  cavity  between  them.  If  the 
air  in  that  cavity  is  of  less  density  than  the  air  outside,  the  opening 
of  the  passage-w.iy  at  either  end  will  result  in  a  sudden  in-rush  of 
air,  forming  a  suftion  click. 


90 

4-  .y  +  (x^)i  ^''Pulsion  C/h ks. 
'"  '">'  "^^  of  the  symbols- 


'•  X    + 
4-  X     +   Q     +^o^^ 


•^«^/0«   C//i-^5. 


^£xf,u/shn  Chcks. 


5-   X     +(Q>)+    D 

ivvosnut  positions  is 


1)1 


largci  than  in  the  cuse  shown  in  Fij;.  14.  Ttu  sciukI  thcrcl.ni-  iuis 
a  lower  pitch  than  any  of  the  clicks  rcsulini},'  liom  tho  pcMiioiis 
shown  in  Fig,  14. 

The  pupil  also  is  unable  to  breathe  through  the  nose  while  pro- 
ducing the  sound. 

The  closure  of  the  soft  pal.,te  against  the  back  ol  the  pharynx 
(0}  is  of  course  assumed  though  n<'t  expressed  in  the  symbol 
X  +  (0!»).  There  are  really  in  this  c;ise  three  shut  positions,  and 
theory  therefore  indicates  the  possibility  of  producing  three  expulsion 
and  three  su'tion  clicks  from  the  positions  shown.  Below  Fig.  is 
I  give  the  symbols  for  the  six  clicks  alluded  to  lor  the  benefit  of 
those  who  des.re  to  study  them.  I  need  not  describe  them  further 
in  detail,  as  we  meet  with  only  one  of  them— the  fourth — in  our 
work. 

The  fourth  click  X  +  (D>)  is  sometimes  given  by  deaf  children 
in  place  of  0>  (/>). 

We  meet  with  three  click  Icms  of  O-  (/).  a4-(0<) ;  0+  (0»); 
andX  +  (0>) 

The  inner  shut  positions  in  each  case  is  the  same  as  that  »'.eady 
noted  for  p. 

K  is  subjed  to  only  one  click  X+  (0>). 

(M  is  often  given  as  a  vocalized  kiss  S-f-  (D<) — such  a  word  as 
•'mamma  "  for  example,  being  pronounced  as  two  kisses  with  the 
voice  passing  continuously  through  the  nose.     6+  (D<D<»). 

(X  's  liable  to  a  click  of  similar  formation  e+(0«j),  but  tig  is 
never  clicked. 

B,  if  and  g  are  subject  to  a  very  curious  form  of  sudion  click 
resulting  from  the  attempt  to  teach  these  sounds  elementarily  instead 
of  in  combination  with  vowels.  A  teacher,  for  example,  will  pro- 
nounce the  .sound  of*  without  opening  the  lips  (0),  and  place  her 
pupil's  hjnd  upon  her  throat  so  that  he  may  feel  the  vibration  pro- 
duced by  the  vocal  cords.  The  voice  cannot  be  prolonged  because 
the  closure  of  the  lips  prevents  the  escape  of  air.  The  pupil  there- 
fore feels  only  a  momentary  impulse  of  voice;  and  in  attemoting  to 
imitate  this  effed,  he  makes  a  sudden  muscular  effort. 

If  you  place  your  hand  upon  the  pupil's  throat  while  he  makes 
the  sound,  you  will  observe  a  strong  muscular  effort  causing  an  ex- 
pansion of  the  whole  throat.  The  cavity  between  the  vocal  cords 
and  the  lips  is  thus  enlarged,  creating  a  partial  vacuum  within. 
The  slit-like  aperture  of  the  glottis  is  not  large  enough  to  permit  air 
to  freely  enter  the  cavity  from  the  lungs  so  as  to  restore  the  pressure. 


il 


93 

^Pon    opening    the  lipj    ,h-„fi,, 
«m.^„„  «,„„„^.^         Thee  rtcki  unfcnunawy,  ,„  „f  ,t^ 

J7r  ""'"""">"•»''■«■«. 


For  f.     a4.tn^\        «      *    ^ 
For'     ^^^"^       a+(0*) 

For  ^7 

For  ff. 
For  r/f.  _. 
For  *. 
For  d. 
for  jr. 

\f  ~       » -h  (a<) 

'file  pupil  „„t„„„    ,.„     ^   ^    *■""=»' 'I'-'g/oWMX). 

P'-'n  of  ascertainin^r  ,he  loctfl  •  ^"'^^^^  ^^^  most  certain 

J  sourd  Will  be  l,,ard  which  «^  I  .„    ,      ^°'"""  °f  ■'•linquishmenl 
"".ten  of  ,he  co„ce,w  ^^  i"„'"  '"*  >■•>"  ">  """min.' v „m™ 


t-'Sl' 


jl'.%^:s^Pfl£li;'Jlii3^\*«llii@S^Km« 


f-- 


pronounced  either  with  the  air  going  In  or  out  of  the  lungs.  If  the 
glottis  is  closed  you  will  hear  ( \>  or  X*)  the  effcit  of  throat  shut 
followed  by  a  puff  of  air.  If  you  are  uncertain  whether  or  not  the 
pupil  can  breathe  through  the  nose,  hold  the  nostrils  closed 
with  your  fingers  imtil  the  pupils  breath  kivcs  out.  If  the 
concealed  position  was  Q  {ng  without  voice)  v<ni  should  hc^r  the 
sound  of  A  ( 3>  or  a<)  for  O  -  » =  a. 

The  first  step  in  the  rorredion  of  a  deftvt  is  a  knowledge  oi  ihe 
cause.  With  this  knowledge  the  te;.:hcrcan  not  only  devise  rni.tns 
(I)  of  correfling  the  defed.  but  (3)  of  utilizing  i  in  the  production 
of  other  sounds.  Let  us  take  as  a  typical  case  of  a  click  defed,  the 
sound  of  a  kiss  given  instead  of  p.  How  can  we  corredt  it  and  how 
can  we  utilize  it  ? 

(I)  CorreaioH  of  the  defea.  In  this  case  the  cause  consists  in 
the  assumption  of  a  shut  position  (Q)  which  prevents  the  breath 
from  reaching  ihe  lips.  If  then,  we  can  d^'/isc  any  method  of  caus- 
ing air  from  the  lungs  to  press  against  the  lips  the  assumption  of  the 
concealed  position  becomes  impossible.  For  example:  You  can 
make  your  pupil  blow  feathers  or  pieces  of  paper  away  from  his  lips, 
or  inflate  his  cheeks  while  trying  to  pron(>uncc  p. 

These  „re  simple  expedients  that  are  usually  successful;  but 
they  may  fail  because  it  is  perfectly  possible  to  produce  inflation  of 
the  cheeks  and  expulsion  of  air  from  the  mouth,  and  yet  have  the 
back  of  the  tongue  shut  against  the  soft  palate  when  the  lips  are 
opened. 

The  charafteristic  puff  heard  during  the  production  of  a  click  is 
necessarily  of  very  short  duration.  Then  get  your  pupil  to  make  a 
continuous  elTort  of  expiration.  For  example :  Let  him  shut  his  lips 
and  blow  continuously  through  a  very  fine  orifice  between  them 
(D0«)  as  though  he  were  blowing  to  cool  something. 

In  producing  a  prolonged  emission  of  this  kind  the  air  can  only 
come  from  the  lungs,  and  the  assumption  of  any  interior  shut  posi- 
tion is  therefore  impossible.  It  is  true  that  the  inflation  of  the  cheeks 
suggested  above,  and  the  too  small  aperture  between  the  lips  just 
alluded  to,  themselves  constitute  defeats;  but  they  are  easily  cor- 
redleJ,  because  the  anions  are  visible.  A  skillful  teacher  will  not 
hesitate  to  substitute  a  dcfed  that  is  easy  of  correftion  for  one  that 
is  more  difficult. 


'■2^m^m- 


94 


(i)  Utilirath'^  of  Ik,  i.f^a- 

Syou 
i>  kiss. 


tnat  the  conce.leu  shut  poMtion  i,  a  vn..  «  m         " '""  ^'•"" 

'"'ity  of  p,od,,„,  „^  j;^  ^om?^:  ^"/cco«ni.c  the  po„i. 


pupil  to  add  voice  to  the  ki„. 


The  moment  you  reallw 
;'  f'^'^^ogni/e  the  po,s|. 
f-or  example;    Get  (he 


f°+(O^^J+l=«+(D^) 


•"'d  you  then  pet  /,^  .,|o,H.      If  ,h 

;^--dor«,  yoic..:;,;.;       ;,^^^;;'^  -«  -^eady  ..uired 

'« «o  h'm;  and  i.  he  alre.idv  h  ..    h  ''  ''  '"""«  of  teaching 

«)  ''^-'^^pr-ent.Snrt  ;„;::;!  ;r.'"^ "» '^-^• 

h.s  .md  an  idea  of  the  n.cch.sm  of  ,,",':  "?  ^'■"  ''"'^y  ^^ 
[«^  '^ '"^'^'y  advisable,  if  possible  H./k  '"  corrc^ing  de- 
teachcr  shnuld  know  the  cause  ^nd"  .  '^'  P"P"  ''  ^<>"  at  fhe 
'he  defeaive  sound.  "  ""^  ""''*^«»^"J  the  mechanism  of 

'^'^'t  is  not  right."    G ive  h^'nf^"     '^°7  ^»  "im  and  „y.  .-n'  ^^ 
•^^  by  .  sign  Of  apprlv^d        '''  '^'"'°'  ^"^  <°^>  and'encou^ 

.he  -X^wam^d"^;^^^^^^^^^^  ^-'t  that  he  failed  to  give 

was  right  in  his  attempt^m  ^.t    r    ^  '°''''°"^  '«  '^'■"'  ^"d  he 
POs.t.on  Which  alone  he  coud    ^ZTuT      '""'^'^'^  ^^^^^^^'^  'he 
then  should  we  ..press  disapprov.lT   1'^'!'?  "' ^''^  ">=*•     ^hy 
of  censure.     The  ..No-no  method     .        ''"^  '^0"'=  nothing  worthy 
t  e  defedt-.nd  it  doe.  ZnZToM  w  t"  "°'  '^'^  """  ' '  -^-^ 
P'ease.     Give  him  a  sign  fo7  TZnT  "f'°"  ''onest  attempts  to 
approbation.     Ifyou  do  not  kn^w  h"        '"'  ''^'^'  '^'^  '^^^  hy 
^'ve  him  .  as  a  pL.sion     s  ^1    oT      ""'^  ''^'^  ^^""'^  P^^Per^ 
f-t  -t.     Say.  .-That  is   wh^vo^d /''"'"'''"'*" '°  ^'p^^ 
^' No-no  method  -  gives  him  tL'  dea  ir:  '°  "  "'''"■ "    ^he 
"o.se  of  that  kind.     On  the  contr '      '  "  '"^''^  ^°  '"^'^e  a 

sound  so  that  you  may  study  it" ndLdorn'"'  ''"  '°  ^^P-»  'he 
'n  i>'s  instruaion.  jf  the  sound  k?r.^  ''°'^  ^''^  'o  utilize  it 
not  know  how  it  is  formL'S';  .t^'r/"  >'°-  ^^  -'^  you^d^ 
ho'd  on  to  it  and  not  throw  it  a  Jay      Whe^'^^^'^  >'°"  ^'^°"'d 

^-     ^'^'"yo"  have  an.<'vzed  its 


=^T^-?raPffl^«j«t?3i^7:iiaiS®^  ^fj«^i^:x'aiW^^#.=^r;«r?i^.^^ 


95 

(omposition  you  may  Imd  it  to  contain  gold  where  you  only  asked 
for  lead.  Let  your  pupil  repeat  the  sound  until  you  can  anitate  it 
yourself.  Then  study  your  own  mouth.  In  the  meantime  do  not 
let  him  fornet  the  sound.  Fix  it  by  reference  to  the  letter  x,  or  some 
other  mark,  and  when  you  have  satisfied  yourself  how  it  should  be 
expressed,  substitute  lor  v  the  proper  symbol. 

The  meaning  of  the  symbol  need  not  be  explained  to  a  young 
child.  It  may  be  treated  is  an  arbitrary  sign.  The  expression  0+ 
(D*)  need  only  me.m  to  him,  "  That's  what  you  did.  now  do  it 
again."  The  deaf  child  soon  comes  to  .  iderstand  the  application 
of  the  symbols  even  though  he  may  not  understand  their  full  mean- 
ing. For  example:  V/he.i  he  knows  th.it  O-f  (O^)  represents  the 
sound  he  makes,  then  if  you  change  the  symbol  to  e+(0^)  he  will 
ai  once  attempt  to  vocalize  the  kiss.  He  will  do  this  even  though 
he  may  be  unable  to  analyze  or  understand  the  full  significance  of 
the  expression. 

The  symbols  of  Visible  Speech  are  invaluable  as  a  means  of  cor- 
refting  and  utilizing  defeaive  sounds.  Indeed,  I  think  their  chief 
value  lies  in  their  ability  to  express  the  mechanism  of  the  sounds  the 
children  make,  so  as  to  show  in  a  graphical  manner  their  relation  to 
the  English  sounds  we  wish  them  to  give. 

The  methods  suggested  above  are  applicable  to  the  correilion 
of  all  the  clicks  of  /  and  *.     (See  Table  of  Clicks). 

UF.FKCTIVK   COMBINATIONS   OK    P,     T,    K. 

Pupils  who  are  taught  by  means  of  Visible  Speech  h  >ve  many  ad- 
vantages over  these  taught  only  by  means  of  Roman  letters  a  i ' 
diacritical  marks.  Defects  of  combination,  which  are  ineviti'Ne  upon 
the  latter  plan,  and  which  require  the  expenditure  of  much  time  and 
labor  on  the  part  of  the  teacher  in  order  to  correct  them,  need  not 
arise  at  all  vhen  symbols  are  employed,  and  if  they  do  arise  are 
easily  corre(fted. 

Let  me  illustrate  by  a  common  case. 

The  position  foi  p  (D)  by  itself  yields  no  sound,  because  the 
lips  are  closed,  it  is  usual,  therefore,  to  teach  it  in  combination 
with  an  open  position.  Thus,  D-.  The  lips  are  first  shut  and 
then  opened  to  allow  of  the  escape  of  a  puff  of  air. 

Here  we  have  two  successive  positions  represented  by  only 
one  character  p.  This  leads  at  once  to  a  defecl  when  p  is  com- 
bined with  other  letters,  for  the  child  naturally  a.„mpts  to  give 


l^WV"-^ 


"Ml  i 

J '-    • 

ii  ■ 

6  ♦     - 
^1     *■ 


96 

S/and  "  ^^  '"'^  ''  ^'^  ^^""'^  ^^--  ''^P  -d  ^)-    So  ai:o 

Ti  becomes  0>0  instead  of  Oy, 
/fi  becomes  a>U  instead  of  GO, 
Ts/i{c/i)  becomes  0>ft  instead  of  Oft  etc 

th.Hi?  ^     ^'-  ?'""«'°*'^^''"'^''"^^^  Of  the  pupil's  eye  to  disceVn 
the  difference  m  her  mouth      Your  ^k;  «•    ■•         k"  »cyc  10  aiscern 

1.  "SayO>"     "That  is  right." 

2.  "Nowsiiy  y  ••     "Right." 

3.  •'NowsayO>y     "  Right  again." 

sitions  aaually  assumed  hv  hlr         .  "^  expressed  the  po- 

right."  With  aVapZ  ing      drie"trr''"'^"^'  "^'"'^ 
could  only  sav.  "n'o'  noAtJ^trl;.  V  ""  ^"^'^^ 

4-   "  Now  try  first  0>U  and  then  OU  •• 
thetwreffeas'tAif"'''"  '^  '''''''  '^ ''''  '^'^^  between 


-  i 


i'A 


^?*  ;■!"•'-:':: 


97 


him  to  put  it  in — now  in  one  place,  now  in  another;  tor  example, 
the  pupil  may  say,  0>U  or  >0U  or  >0>U,  etc. 

It  is  not  the  teacher's  objec^t  to  have  him  foi'Hi't  the  incorred 
sounds  but  to  remember  them  and  contrast  them  one  with  the 
other.  The  greater  the  number  of  slight  variations  that  can  be  pro- 
nounced at  will  by  the  pupil  the  more  power  does  he  obtain  over 
his  vocal  organs.  A  good  marksman  should  be  able  to  hit  one 
mark  just  as  well  as  another. 

The  sound  oi  ch  (tsh)  presents  exceptional  difficulties  to  a  dea. 
child.  Even  when  the  /  is  properly  combined  with  sli  without  any 
puff  of  air  between  the  two  (thus  Of?)  your  ear  usually  tells  you 
that  there  is  something  wrong  when  the  combination  is  uttered  in  a 
word. 

1  think  the  fault  lies  in  the  undue  prolongation  of  the  sh  position 
(OfJ»)-  If  you  observe  your  own  utterance  of  such  words  as  chair, 
cheese,  church,  such,  much,  touch,  watch,  etc.,  you  will  notice  that 
the  tongue  does  not  remain  for  any  length  of  time  in  the .«;//  position. 
Thesfe  indeed  constitutes  a  non-vocal  glide,  a  mere  transitional  effed, 
between  /  and  the  succeeding  element.  The  unnatural  effect  pro- 
duced by  prolongation  is  most  marked  when  sh  occurs  finally,  as  in 
much,  touch,  etc.  (9]0n»0]0n»,  etc.).  1  have  rarely  failed  to  ob- 
tain the  vernacular  efTed  from  a  deaf  child  by  expressing  the  sound 
of  cA  final  as  On>  instead  of  0S5.  Indeed,  as  a  general  rule  a  non- 
vocal  consonant  occurring  as  a  final  element  is  most  naturally  given 
by  a  deaf  child  when  the  symbol  for  the  sound  is  followed  by  >. 
For  example: 

(curt)  a]3>       (us)  jy-  (both)  0}W> 

(cup)  a]D-       (nut)  CD]0>      (sick I  Ufa> 

(cuffs)  a]3U>  (nuts)  CC10U>  (deaths)  Q\UU> 

(watch)  !3}On> 

Of  course,  when  these  words  occur  in  the  middle  of  a  phrase, 
the  puff  of  air  must  be  omitted,  for  the  phrase  is  pronounced  as  one 
word  and  the  consonant  is  then  no  longer  final. 

CORRECTION  OF  THE   DEFFXTS  OF  B,  D,    G,  M  AND   N. 

It  is  difficult  to  pronounce  the  sound  of  b  (0),  without  opening 
the  lips  and  when  a  deaf  child  attempts  to  do  this  a  defedive  sound 
arises  which,  when  combined  in  a  word  with  other  sounds, 
produces  the  click  form  of  ^  [l+(D<*)J  alluded  to  in  the  table  of 
clicks.    "TD  and  g  are  subjed  to  a  similar  defed. 

1  would  recommend  combining  these  consonants  with  vowels 
from  the  very  first.     I  commence  with  an  indefinite  vowel  (I),  which 


(wish)  !3fn> 
(maps)    SIDO. 

(books)  elau:. 


yf^J,  •- 


98 

ScaV^al;:'  ;o:exL;L.'"VT"'^  -we.  sound  th.t  the 

teaching  *  in  combination  for  ii-.n  I  "  ""'"'^  ""  '''^^""y  '" 
produces  the  vowel  sound  Le  .h  T^^'^""'^'  ^'^"^  ^'^^  ^'^i'^ 
vowel  sound  with  his  lios  nr..tJ   1  ^''"'''"^  ''"  '"definite 

thumb  and  finger  under  his  b2  ^''''^-     ^''^  P''^"  ^^^^ 

and  down  so  !.  to  do  n d  :;;:  :,  ".^  ,  7^  ^'^^  "P  -pidi;  up 
in  313.01  etc.  (ber,  ber  ber  TO  C  !  T'""''-  '^"'^  '"'^^'^ 
the  movement  n  open  nrnV  ^''' '^^^^'^  ^^  taken  to  make 
be  only  momenta^'  Th'eu  de  r'h'  u"-  ""'^  ^'^^"^^  ^'^-'^ 
the  upper  lip  as  a  hammer  rebo'd  V  '"'"""^  ''^^^""'^  ^^«'" 

child  himself  to  movTh  TZ  T.  '"  '""'•  ^°^  ^^^^^  the 
attempt  should  be  to  ro  "ou  'ce  h'e  tower"  ""'  ''^  '"^^^^  "'^ 
no  muscular  effort  with  the Tps  Aft  k  ^  ^  ^^"^'""o^sly  and  make 
try  to  move  his  lip  rapidK  u'  -H  ^  ''•  ""  '°  ^"^'^  ^-"  'et  him 
the  assistance  of  hL  hT  d^  There  sC  b  '''  ""^  "^^  "'^^^^ 
but  on  the  contr.,ry  the  lips  slo^^d  ^e'rsoft  a^dTor^"^  ""'■°"' 

when^rp^p^xtr^^^^^^^^ 

After  the  child  can  gi:;  0:3,;;  eJc^Trtn.S'"^"'*   °^  --'^-• 
whether  analogy  will  not  l^d  h  „;  /  '  '''-  '^  ''  ^^"  *°  ^O^ 

This  Often  sucfleds.  but  in  dl   '^   Lrthfb '^J "  ^''^''^'  ^^^ 
remains  closed  against  the  .«r      .     ?    ^  ^^'^'^  °*^  ^^^  tongue 

accompanied  by  a  succesti  n  of  ctks  V'heTfrr"'"'''^ 
retention  of  the  back-shut  position  Q)  ,  thL  f  'J  '"\^°  *'^« 
way  to  deal  with  a  difficult  case  i.  f.I^^*  '  ^^^'^f°'^'  the  best 

tongue,  so  that  the  puXha,      '?    Y  ""''°'°'^''^^^^'^  ^ 
depressing,,  at  wi/T^o; Id^^^^^ ?/ ^^^^^^^^^^  -d 

-e^^.d  combining  th^;jt-----^^ 

e.e-t;^reiSr"^---'-' etc..  thus. 


If? 

■'i  i 


99 

/•",  I,  ///,  fli,  (3  3  U  U)  piL'si'iit  no  dil'tkuliies  of  importance. 
S,  sh,  yk,  (U  n  O)  and  their  vocal  forms  Z,  {//,  .v  ( Ji5  n  and  O), 
are  liable  chiefly  to  faults  of  position.  That  is,  the  tongue  may  be 
a  little  too  far  forward  (>);  or  too  far  back({);or  too  high  up. 
There  may  be  too  much  compression  of  t"  e  passage-way  (  a  ) ;  or 
too  little  compression  (v). 

My  plan  of  correction  is — to  write  what  the  pupil  does,  using 
these  modifiers  according  to  the  character  of  the  defed  to  be  sym- 
bolized.    For  example:    f5<  Cl>  fJv  Qa  etc. 

1  then  get  the  pupil  to  vary  the  position  slightly  and  contrast  the 
new  position  with  the  old  making  him  pronounce  both  sounds  alter- 
nately so  as  to  observe  their  difference. 

In  difficult  cases  it  is  well  to  manipulate  the  non-vocal  forms  5, 
5//,  and  yh,  (25,  fJ,  and  O,)  from  th  (U)  in  the  manner  1  have 
already  described  in  answer  to  a  question.  When  these  are  well 
fixed  the  vocal  forms  foliow  as  a  matter  of  course  by  the  addition 
of  voice. 


i   i 


n  f 


VOWELS,  CLIDES,^D  COMBINATIONS. 

or  .n'^LtfintTpfr  ;,  ',  'n  f  ™"""'  "'  -V  «e„„.,  .. 
syllables.  You  ,JZ  °  „«v  "'  I'  ™""'  Z""""  i"  ""«-=<! 
valu.--  vow.b,  or  deem  „  "n,  "  .  "^^  ■""  "''  '""' '  """"- 
i-por^ceinourwort.  F"i,',r7'  r»"'^  "  ""  P"ftl". 
vowe.  .e  of  secondary  ™p„  J:'  :'-,„L:„':„  "-"  '»  '"*•  ">a. 

or  u.';e™r"'^c?^rfs/:„rr'r.:r'^^'"^-'' 

;3».-vowe.   .e  „es.  „„d  .L'^^:' tt' ^  wf£ 
■atlon'^bu::,™:" p^S,r  :r,''%"°' ■"^"^  -  in,e„i^Me,r„cu. 

however,  nor  advisable,  ,ha,  every  voJet .,  1  "'"^^  "'"''"'■ 
■«  full  value.  Unaccented  syllaWels^'  H?"'"'"  "''°""  "^  «'«" 
shaded  portions  of  „  piaurf  ,h„    K  '™''  '*""'"  "k^  ll>= 

accented  parts  of  words  """^  '""  '">•  ""•"«,  the 

lables  as  upon  accLc;  of tol^f^ttr"  "'  '"  """™"'"'  '''- 

't  IS  a  very  difficult  thing  even  fn/h      ■ 
accented  vowels  their  proper  ;ounds  with   Tf  '"'''''''  *°  «'^^  ""' 
prominently,  so  as  to  proS  celhat  n.H    "       ""^'"^  '"""^  ""^^^^ 
which  is  often  n^istakent  elocution         "  '"'"^  °^  Pronunciation 

The  really  good  speaker  gives  fh J  nr« 

vowels  Without  italicizing  them 7:    he  eT"  h'e  n!  ^°  TT"'"' 

however,  are  no  more  able  to  do  this   th  n  th  ''  °^  '^'  ^^' 

Indeed,  the  attempt  results  in  !  u  '  '""'"  °^''^=  ''taring. 

mpt  results  m  a  much  more  unnatural  effed  than 


;■  A 


lOI 


the  utterance  of  the  pedantic  speaker— because  the  vov/el  quality  it- 
self is  usually  defedive.  Under  such  circumstances  indefmiteness  is 
of  importance,  it  produces,  not  a  worse,  but  a  better  effect.  You 
must  not  suppose,  when  I  advocate  a  careless  utti-r.ince  of  un- 
.iccented  syllables,  that  I  am  urging  you  to  teach  worse  speech  than 
your  pupils  now  possess;  on  the  contrary,  I  believe  that  the  result 
will  be  recognized  as  a  great  improvement.  You  will  tone  down 
sounds  that  are  usually  defective  so  that  they  will  not  come  out  so 
prominently  to  the  ear;  and  accent,  which  is  now  conspicuous 
chiefly  by  its  absence,  will  be  produced  by  the  subordination  of  the 
unimportant  parts  of  words. 

Give  as  detmite  vowels  as  possible  in  the  accented  syllables,  but 
don't  be  too  precise  about  the  others. 

Vowels  are  the  most  difficult  elements  we  are  called  upon  to 
teach.  Why  is  this  so  ?  The  discovery  of  the  cause  may  perhaps 
enable  us  to  devise  a  remedy.     Let  us  examine  into  the  matter. 

How  do  vowel  positions  differ  from  the  positions  that  yield  con- 
sonant sounds.'  They  result  from  larger  apertures.  Can  this  have 
anything  to  do  with  the  difficulty  of  the  acquirement .'  It  seems  so, 
for  wide-aperture  vowels  are  more  difficult  to  obtain  in  perfeiftion 
than  the  others. 

Get  a  pupil  to  prolong  a  small-aperture  vowel.  The  sound, 
even  when  defefiive,  has  a  definite  quality  of  its  own.  A  lower  po- 
sition of  the  tongue,  however,  yields  an  effect  of  indefinite  kind. 
The  oral  aperture  is  usually  too  large  and  the  sound,  when  prolonged, 
is  unstable  and  variable  in  quality,  showing  that  the  pupil  finds  diffi- 
culty in  retaining  the  position  unchanged. 

Sometimes  the  attempt  results  in  a  visible  trembling  of  the 
tongue. 

In  forming  consonants  and  small-aperture  vowels,  the  tongue 
makes  actual  contact  with  the  upper  part  of  the  mouth  at  one  or 
more  points;  but  in  lower  positions  it  is  hung  in  the  air,  so  to  speak, 
without  anything  against  which  to  press.  Extend  your  arm  and 
you  can  easily  retain  it  in  a  fixed  position  if  you  press  your  hand 
against  the  under  surface  of  a  table  or  shelf  but  extend  it  in  the  air 
and  I  fancy  you  will  find  more  difficulty  in  keeping  it  still.  Your 
hand— if  you  do  not  watch  it — is  apt  to  waver  like  the  uns*..-ady 
tongue  of  the  df  child,  and  a  constant  tendency  exists  to  a  lower 
position. 

Your  ear  aids  you  in  the  retention  of  a  vowel  position,  because 
any  change  affefts  the  quality  of  the  sound. 


I'M 


103 

""'ks  a  guide.  "'"'*  "P'nmced  by  y„„r  pup,,,    „^ 

mo.™:mth;;::™r' " ""-  ^^  ^"'"" «---  or  „. 

The  sound  is  your  euide    m.*  .r 
that  helps  you  to  rLin  TpoiTon  ^1""''^  '""'  ""''''  ^-d' 
by  seeing  he  will  learn  control      The  1   ^k"    '  '""'''  '^  ^'■^'^^'  ^"^ 

seen  in  the  mirror  will  help  him  I  hi  2  ?    ''  '"'*"'  '"'  ""'' 
you.  P     ""•  ■''  ^^^  t'^0"ght  of  the  sound  helps 

I  cannot  overestimate  the  v  iIup  m^  .- 
.articulation  work,     it  is  not  eno  "h  Jat  7'°'?"  °'  ^  '"'-^^  *" 
t-chers  mouth,  he  must  see  his  ow        !  '"''"  ''°"''  ^'^'""'^  '^'^ 
of  sound  depend  upon  the  abilirtr^-tat":"?  ;'"'  '^''"'^^""^ 
'"deed,  as  I  said  in  n,.  second  lect,  r.  ^  P°"*'""  ""^hanged. 

is..ned  not  so  much  I>  t^l^^  L^  s"  v^T ''^  ^^^^'' ^^'^'"'^ 
Clearness  of  pronunciation  dev.tu  7  ''"P'"^  *'^^"'  ■"'t'". 

every  element  in  a  word  with  'c    'ir^d  ^  T'  '''  ^'""^'^^^ 

^^P^sitionsofthetong^^:.:^^ 

Little  children    delight  tn 
unusual  positions  of  the  toneue'ThTK°';'  '"°'^''  ^^^  ^^-^"'"'ng 
They  should  I- encouraged  nh,-,^^^'^,;'^^  ^^^^'^  """ot  imitate"^ 

of  value  as  a   prepantL   f^  pe      '"'' "bT '"r' ''^'^ ''"'^  ^^"^ 
unconsciously  £ain   .  ^ntrol  ov^r  th  ^  '"''''   '^^*^'-<:''ses   they 

better  able  to  imitate  posit  on'o,  f  ''"k  "^""^  ''"'^  '^-o-' 
muscular  exertion  and  see  the  efflV  n  7"'''  '''''  ''''^  '  '^^^i- 
association  of  seeing  and  feelinrMt.  l^  "'""''''•  ""'^  ^'^'"'^  '-■^"^^^"t 
by  muscular  sensation  alon'^y^^^^^^^^  ^.^-  to  realise 

I  consider  a  looking  glass  as  .n  ^^"'  "  '^°'"^- 

Youcannomoreexpeatoteachal?f??y  '"  '"^^  ^-^^oolroom. 
a  mirror  than  you  can  h  pe  to  te' ch  ,  h  ^"5  ^P"'^'^  "'^'^^^ 
wthout  letting  him  see  the're.!ult  of  hii  eff::^  '  '°  '''"'  "^" 
aiterna^^'lSng^-^^  -  an  --'-  before  a  mirror 
narrow  the  tongue  causes  it  t„  h       "^ ''''  ''"^"^-     ^ ^e  attempt  to 


3:1j       , 


.1 «    ^' 


ind 
He 

he 

d. 
Id 

IS 
)S 


M 
3 


flat  and  soft.  The  most  common  fault,  I  think,  among  deaf  children 
is  an  exaggerated  muscular  adion  leading  to  a  stiffening  and  narrow- 
ing of  the  tongue.  For  example :  Many  children  in  trying  to  form 
X  {ee)  make  so  much  muscular  effort  that  the  tongue  (eels  hard. 
The  tongue  is  narrowed  and  fits  up  into  the  arch  of  the  palate, 
making  contad  with  the  top  of  the  hard  palate,  and  though  .1  centre 
aperture  exists  over  the  front  of  the  tongue  the  effect  of  the  vowel  i 
is  not  produced.  I  Java  found  C  (the  German  i  //)  to  be  a  very 
important  position.  It  forms,  indeed,  the  key  note  to  the  vowels. 
As  a  general  rule  if  a  child  can  pronounce  C  you  can  teach  him  to 
glide  the  tongue  forward  {C>)  nnd  backward  (C<),  retaining  the  small 
centre  aperture,  and  by  getting  him  to  do  this  as  tar  back  and  as  far 
forward  as  possible,  the  latter  position  generally  gives  O,  which, 
by  the  addition  of  voice,  becomes  a  good  f  (.v).  In  dilHicult  cases  I 
have  found  it  a  good  plan  to  give  the  pupil  the  idea  that  O  is  C 
modified  by  expansion  of  the  tongue  so  as  to  press  sideways  against 
the  molar  teeth  on  each  side  instead  of  pressing  up  into  the  arch  of 
the  palate.  In  some  cases  the  simple  direction  to  broaden  the 
tongue  will  corred  the  defedive  T  (f,-). 

Pupils  sometimes  give  I  or  even  1  for  f  {ee),  and  sometimes  f 
T  or  1.  These  defe(5\s  arise  from  the  attempt  to  say  ee  with  the  teeth 
too  far  apart.  You  cannot  pronounce  (ee)  properly  with  the  mouth 
wide  open.  A  teacher,  hov/ever,  is  apt  to  separate  the  teeth  as 
much  as  possible  in  order  to  show  her  pupil  the  position  of  the 
tongue.  The  pupil  imitates  the  opening  of  the  jaws,  and  this  is  apt 
to  result  in  a  position  of  the  tongue  too  far  back  (I  or  1)  or  in  a 
position  having  too  wide  an  aperture  (fl  or  1 ). 

I  give  below  a  tabulated  list  of  the  elementary  vowels  used  in 
the  English  language  arranged  in  such  a  manner  as  to  show  their 
place  in  the  complete  vowel  scheme  elaborated  by  my  father. 


Melville  Bell's  Vowel  Scheme. 


1  I  f 

:  I  c 

J  I  I 

J  I  f 

»  \  i 

I    i   \ 

I04 


'JTW^. 


Enoi.ish    V'oWEtK 

-- f    -_  f 


I   I 


3    -    f 

-  -   [ 

1  - 

}  —        

Some  one  h.(s  observed  th.t  ,-^.. 
Scotch  .,r  hy  striking  a      n  1      „    H   T  '"  ''"'  '""^  P™^"-'  " 
•"usicl  scale  of  the  Celts  .s  d.i    i  v        i      "°'"  "' ''''  P'^'"""      'h^- 
-sounds  as  given  by  my  f ,  he      n    J         T""  ''''  '^^"""^  ^'  ^'^^'^^ 

"-sical  notes.     Only  Zl  If'  th H,    l""  '  "V'*-'  ''^^'^'^  '^^^  ''^  '-" 
'he  fcn,.Iish  language   two  0^11     '''^  V"'  °'^'^^^'^  '"-^  "^'■'J  '" 

---     Out  of'the  eigh'l  rlr      T"'  ^'"'  ''^^  «^  '-^^  <"-"' 
ployed  in  our  languagf  '^  '"^'■'''^-  ^"'-^  «^'-- '"  ^"1  are  em- 

series  (land  I)  .'  ITvs  of  loT'T  '°"''"  '^'^^  ''^^»  ^^-^e  ch 
(rand  1)  always  shor"  tI:  ^i'd'ard'.?"^'"''  ^'"'  '^^  ^-^ 
but  is  used  simply  .s  the  initia  ni  r  V"'"""  °""^^  ^^  itself, 
ends  With  the  g^iJing  of^t^r^^  ^t:  h:  ZlT'\  J''  ^^""^ 
Thus  C  IS  pronounced  as  fr  m  finfth  ^^i"^''  ^o^*-*'  of  its  series, 
tongue  towards  the  pos  tioi  ft  U  "^  fj'^!^  the  gliding  of  the 
'■^•hing  Off  with  a  glide  toXd^^  ,h    ^^ '  ""'^  *  ^'''^1^^^  fin- 

vowel  of  each  seri?st  Hit  ^^"  '^  j^^     ''^  ^^^-^ 
front  series  I  (.  in  ^,/)  ,-,  sometimes  Ion!  L  ^^"^  "°^'-''  ^^^ ''^^ 

fifth  of  the  back-round  series  ^^^''1?  ?'"'"'"'''' ^'^^''  ^^^ 
both  series  the  sixth  vowel    J  or  n        '  ^  ^"'"^  "  '"^^'>'-"=  '°"»^-     '" 

't  may  also  be  notelth- 1  th        '^  t^"''  °^'^°''  ''"^^'t'on- 
always  short.  "^"*  '"^^  "^''-''^"^'^  ^owel  ]  (u  in  ./,)  also  .s 

the  mistaken  idea  that  the    owdf  f  t'f  ""«!•     ^•■'"  V  persons  have 

of  the  same  vowels,  but  if  y   "sinTl"'  ''V'"'  '"'  '''''  "'^"^^ 
th^U  the  vowels  remain  dis^n,     Ih^  ^r  Zt " '"  ^^  "^^^"'^^ 

::^:ith::rj-:--r~ 

P--tion  given  .rl^rt^-trsp:r^^^^^ 


»^^    J*^_ 


I05 


I  am  inclined  to  think  that  there  is  some  natural  cause  for  the 
analogous  peculiarities  appearing  in  the  front  and  back-round  series 
of  vowels,  because  !  notice  in  both  dialciftic  and  individual  utterance 
that  variations  from  the  standard,  appearing  in  one  series,  have  their 
analogues  in  the  other.  For  example :  whi ,  e  \f  (V  is  pronounced  C 
without  any  gliding  of  the  tongue  toward  f  .is  in  Scotch  and  in  Con- 
tinental pronunciation,  you  find  also  that  Jl  d')  is  pronounced^ 
without  the  }  glide. 

So.  too,  where  individual  .-peakers  give  [f  or  It  for  JT  (J)  they 
also  usually  say  }^  or  J>  for }}  (6),  etc. 

Examine  the  table  of  English  vowels  and  you  will  see  that  the 
front  and  back-round  series  are  nearly  complete,  and  you  will  recog- 
nize at  once  the  importance  off  (ee)  and  \  (oo).  for  from  them  the 
other  vowels  of  their  series  can  be  developed  bv  simply  enlarging  the 
aperture. 

The  mixed  vowels  (land  I)  and  the  back  vowels  (]  ]  and  J)  pre- 
sent no  difficulties,  for  the  following  reason:  any  sort  of  an  ii.  defi- 
nite sound  will  pass  for  I  (er  in  licr)  and  I  (the  sound  of  the  indefi- 
nite article  a  in  a  sentence)  dilTers  so  slightly  from  this  that  there  is 
no  need  of  distinguishing  between  them.  In  unaccented  syllables  I 
would  express  these  two  sounds  indiscriminatelv  In'  (1)  the  voice 
sign. 

3  {a  in  ask,  path,  etc.)  also  differs  soslightiy  from  J  {a  in  father, 
calm,  etc.)  that  there  is  no  need  to  bother  a  deaf  child  with  the  dis- 
tinction. I  teach  and  write  them  both  as  ]  and  few  deaf  children 
have  any  difficulty  in  giving  the  sound. 

Then,  again,  this  may  be  considered  as  identical  with  ].  For 
example:  though  the  vowels  in  calf  and  cuff  are  really  different 
vowels  in  teaching  the  deaf,  we  may  consider  them  as  the  long  and 
short  form  of  the  same  vowel,  because,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  a 
deaf  child  gives  ]  when  he  attempts  to  shorten  3.  It  should  be 
noted  that  this  vowel  ]  («  in  up)  like  ^  (it  in  pull),  and  J  {o  in  on) 
never  occurs  by  itself  or  as  a  final  element.  !  would  not.  therefore, 
teach  these  sounds  elementarily,  but  always  in  combination  with  a 
succeeding  consonant.  The  short  effect  should  -ot  be  produced  by 
a  sudden  impulse  of  voice,  but  by  cutting  ou  the  sound  by  the 
afsumption  and  prolongation  of  the  succeeding  consonant.  For 
example:  let  a  child  prolong  (Othe  vowel  3  and  wind  up  with  a 
softly  uttered  3>,  and  you  get  the  effeft  of  "calf"  (033  =  a3»3>). 
Whereas,  let  the  child  attempt  to  give  the  same  vowel  sound, 
but   prolong  the    3   position,    jumping   as    quickly    as    possible 


/ 


\<i6 
from  the  O  tn  ik .  o 

(aj3^^a33,>)    So  X'''T  •'"V''"  «^''  ^'''^  ^'f^-^  or  ..cuff- 

s-e  vow.  ^i^l^^^'X;-;   '^'^  tries  .  ,^::l 
passmg  quickly  fron,  the  Q  o  Zl  ^         ®  '"  '^'  ^''"-'^  ^ord 

vowel  and  ..  prolooKcd  conson  .  T  °'®  ^"^  '^  -""^ortcnc-d 

shor,vowdsJ,..„jf,h,td7S^^^  '^  '"  '^•-•^^^«-"  of  the  Cher 

over  the  vowel  to  the  succeeding?  con  ^'  f'^'"">'"«  quickly 

.Thus  ,f  ,.  child  pronounces  Ol^'f /oT^'V"''  ^'^°'°"«'"«  't 

'he  «  passing  ,,  ^.i^.;^,     ,^  poslieti  'T^'-^'  '^"^  ^im  prolong 

produces  the  effed  ofoL(pZ     L      I  '^'  °  "^  '^e  «  ..nd  he 

;^V  to  pronounce  it  .s  3ioi"  l.'Tnr        7"'  '""     '-^''  h-'" 

A  ;'nd  passing  .s  cjuicklv  ..s  possible  Z   h'  o  "'  ^'""'^'"'^  °  "^  '^e 

get  the  proper  vern.cubV  ellTcl  0  o!     si        ,'"  '"'^  °^'  '"^  Vou 

v-t  ,  ..^/,/  into  ,of  by  prolonging  ;he  st^     ■'•     ^^'^  ""  •--«"- 

'^7-  from  r  in  /ny  ot^  r  ^es '  .rfH    "  !'  ■'  "^'^'^  ^""J  ''^'t   ^ 
-'e.  ir  the  de.fchila  prolong        i;  ^^  a  genera, 

he  word  ,•.,/,  p.^sing  qui,kt  ovvrTh  ^  °"  ^°^  ^'  "^^  /  (O.)  i„ 
-  e/fed  Of  it  is  prod'uc!d  fO>  :  ;  'r  ^Tj'  T''-"'  the  vernaL 
the  succeeding  consonant  is  prolonged  ' '"  ^"'  ^'^'^^^  '^^^^^^ 

•^R-  Bhi.i.:     Yes 

lOW*'-™^'"*—  you  .„„„„„,,„,,  ^^„_^_^^^_ 

Dr.  Bell:    Thit's  tru^     Th 
always  succeeded  by  consonmts    Tl'  f""''  '°'^'*^'^  *  ^  and  ]  .re 

Of  the  short  vowels  excepting  f  occur  ir.     /',        "  ""^  'hink  any 
sound  of  final  ,•  is  f  (,  .-^  J    ;^"'^^-'^  ^^al  elenu-nts.    Th.  corred 

the  effect  corredly  i    he  tdes  to  m  .f  "'k"  '"''  ''''  ^'"P''  ^'"  ^'ve 
-.th  little  „n,scul.'  exertio  t'elV'  '  ^"'^  '"''^'^^^ 

t^y  to  say  r  (,,)  softly.     ,f  ,he  eff  a     7  '  '?'"  '^  -^'-""'"^^  '^'•'"  to 
leave  .t  alone,     if,  however  w^  n h  "''''  ^'^"  ^"'^  &ooJ-     1 

the.  exp,,„  ,hat  the  Tp!:;::  f r  s.n7%"r""^ '"'  ^-> ' 

that  .f  you  tell  a  deaf  child  that  f  h  s  .  '  ^''''  ^'■^"hle  is 

^Pt  to  exaggerate  the  dilTerenL  alld  jiT L:T"^  ^'^'"  ^  '^  ^ 

s'^e  100  i.irge  an  aperture. 


sii 


I07 

Whereas,  if  you  don't  say  anything  at  alt  about  the  tperiun  the 
attempt  to  say  t  with  httle  muscular  exertion  usually  results  in  a 
satisfadory  f. 

I  give  below  a  table  of  the  English  vowels,  as  I  teach  them  to 
the  deaf,  arranging  them  so  as  to  show  their  pl.icc  in  my  father's 
complete  vowel  system  already  given. 


-    -      f 


-     I 


] 

-     I     _ 


The  short  vowels  11}  and  J,  as  I  h.ive  already  explained,  may 
be  considered  as  identical  with  I  J  J  and  ],  save  in  exceptional 
cases,  where  the  organic  difference  must  Iv  explained. 

The  medium  aperture  vowels  C  and  }  arc  only  used  in  English 
as  the  initial  parts  of  the  diphthongs  tf  (<J)  and  J^  (()).  They  are 
asually  so  difficult  ol  acquirement  that  we  are  generally  forced  to 
accept  If  and  }}  for  tf  anil  }}.  The  distinction  of  sound  is  so  slight, 
however,  that  the  error  is  surely  immaterial. 

I  {ee)  and  I  (oo)  :n  unaccented  syllables  become  f  ([) 
and  1^  {66)  in  ordinary  speech.  For  example:  the  word  tfn-  by 
itself  is  Ml  (thee),  but  when  unaccented  becomes  &5f ;  WlDJi 
Mf0[f9«,  '  thf  boy,  thi  table,  '  etc.  The  word  to  by  itself  is  Oi, 
but  in  unaccented  positions  becomes  Ol,  as  "I  gave  a  book 
OiWfBJf  [tSothlboyJ." 

We  are  so  accustomed  to  give  indefinite  vowels  in  unaccented 
syllables  that  any  sort  of  indefinite  vowel  effect  is  more  acceptable 
than  a  precise  pronunciation  such  as  would  be  given  if  the  syllables 
were  accented.  For  example:  OlMl  0}f  (ta  thQ  boy)  rapidly  and 
indefinitely  uttered  would  be  more  acceptable  to  ordinary  ears  than 
OlUldjr  (too  thee  boy)  precisely  uttered.  In  h£i,  in  al'  unaccented 
syllables  I  is  better  than  a  precise  vowel,  f  and  i  should  be  given 
or  r  and  i,  but  I  is  better  than  an  incorred  I  or  i. 

Mr.  Lyon:  That  docs  not  differ  materislly  from  the  sound  of 
H  in  up  as  we  usually  hear  it. 

Dr.  Bell:  It  is  an  indefinite  sound,  somewhat  like  that,  but 
more  like  er  in  her. 

Mr.  Crouter:  Don't  we  get  that  effed  in  the  word  "carpet" 
by  droppii.g  out  the  vowels  ? 


io8 

""  C  rlir"'  "" "" " '"''■""'" '""'' "' '"""" 

iwi.  n   1-  o  vowds,  and  thi.  li,  ,  ""  '"■"  '  occurs  b. 

W">«n  -iMf  chlldrm.  however  ,,, 

child  gives  thaT  in  ^  ^  ^P"'"  ""'^  '^  "^''y  uttered      WK       '°'" 
"^nen   r  occurs  ^ 


I(>) 


ot 

he 
m 
is 


^   I  wrx  a  s.itisljclory  pronunciation  of  the  word  "there,    but  if  you 

put  that  into  a  sentence  where  the  next  wr>ril  tDintnenccs  with  a 
vowel  (for  example,  "there  is."  etc.),  then  U\f  fU  would  not  prove 
acceptable,  and  we  must  introduce  a  consun.mt  /  tht.s  65liUJrM. 
1^  Now  it  is  a  difTicult  thing  for  a  teacher  to  get  a  deaf  child 

to  say  9]0Ix  without  an  exaggeration  ot  "le  glide  /  element  that 
produces  an  unnatural  effect,  but  any  child  can  give  GlOl  which  is 
perfedly  satisfactory  to  most  ea.s.  If  you  didn  t  know  there  was 
no  r  there,  you  would  never  find  it  out.  I  would  have  the  deaf 
child  give  simply  '-»  indefinite  vowel  (i)  for  the  whole  syllable  <•/ 
in  such  words. 

In  English  utterance  two  other  glides  («  and  i)  are  employed  in 
the  diphthongal  vowels. 

In  forming  a  the  tongue  glides  towards  the  position  for  <*>  (y) 

or  I  {(•(•) ;  and  in  Ibrming  i  the  glide  is  towards  the  position  for  3 

i'u)  or  \  (oo.)     Diphthongal  sounds  present  great  difliculties  to  the 

deaf  md  are  rarely  given  correitly.     Both  the  initial  and  final  posi- 

ti        are  apt  to  be  wrong,  and  a  strong  tendency  is  manilcsted  to 

prolong  the  final  instead  of  the  initial  part  of  the  diphthong. 

3  My  plan  of  correction  is  to  write  what  the  pupils  do,  so  that 

^  they  may  see  the  difference  between  the  sounds  they  artually  utter 

f  and  those  we  wish  them  to  give. 

J  My  father  has  not  provided  a  sufficient  number  of  glide  symbols 

J  to  enable  us  to  represent  the  incorred  sounds  uttered  by  our  pupils, 

f  and  I  have,  therefore,  found  it  advisable  to  express  glides  by  vowel 

\  symbols  upon    '.  small  scale.     This  gives  us  a  suftkient  number  of 

:  forms  without  introducing  new  symbols.     For  »he  dtuf  I  write  th- 

J  diphthongs  Ia  ]«  }r>hh  as  [f  ]r }f  M ]». 

I  The  common  defect  of  prolongation  ol  the  final  element  can  be 

expressed  as  tX  Of  it  A  A.  and  when  the  combination  is  dis-syllabic 
this  becomes  inurji]!. 

in  teaching  such  a  diphthong  as  3f,  I  commence  in  the  following 
manner: 

Say  3.     Now  say  f.     Now  3f  3X]f,  etc. 
Now  3f  3f  3l,  etc.     Now  ]r3r3r,  etc. 

Whatever  variations  occur  during  the  course  of  the  lesson  are 
represented  symbolically,  and  the  pupil  is  requested  to  repeat  them 
in  contrast  with  the  corred  sound.  Thus:  "You  said  3l.  Doit 
again  31 3l3l  etc."  '  Now  give  3l3f3l3r  etc."  "  Now  you  said  If. 
Try  it  again  II  If  If  etc.     Now  give  ]f  3llf  etc.  ' 

The  principle  of  corredion  is :  uriie  what  the  pupil  does,  and 


.^.:  '«H 


i 


I  lO 

//wngc'f  hhn  to  jyp.a/  the  incorrea  sound  in  contrast  nill,  the  sound 
von  ictsh  him  to  utter. 

I  do  not  think  it  is  possible  to  obtnin  grent  accuracy  of  vowel 
quality  without  the  use  of  symbols  of  some  sort  for  incorred  sounds 
and  the  adoption  of  the  principle  referred  to  above.  The  symbols 
of  visible  speech  are  of  great  utility  for  this  purpose.  Indeed  I 
believe  them  to  be  essential.  Without  them  you  can  only  hope  for 
approximations  to  the  correct  vowel  positions.  Without  them 
your  great,  and  indeed  your  only  reliance  must  be  upon  imitation. 
In  any  case  the  power  of  imitation  should  be  developed  bv  con- 
stant practice  before  ,i  mirror. 

I  always  teach  (T  Ui)  and  3f  (/)  in  contrast  with  one  another  so 
as  to  m.ike  the  pupil  familiar  with  the  difference.  These  diphthongs 
are  apt  to  be  pronounced  alike  .as  If  or  .f.  For  example:  A  pupil 
will  say  .O.rOiO.f.  instead  ol  .GOfJCOf  (tine  dav).  For  the  same 
reason  I  teach  h  and  3l  in  contrast. 

In  giving  jr.  pupils  generally  give  too  small  an  aperture  between 
the  lips  for  the  initial  position.  I  think  this  results  chiefly  from 
the  spelling  {oi).  They  try  to  give  an  6  followed  by  short  / 
Indeed,  very  often  the  o  is  followed  bv  glide  oo,  thus  making  a  dis- 
syllabic compound  something  like  W.  For  example :  Q}M  (bo-ee) 
for  0jr  (boy). 

Sounds  that  differ  only  slightly  from  one  another  should  I 
think,  be  taught  together,  in  contrast,  as  the  best  means  of  securing 
a  distinaion.  Thus :  teach  ir3r  and  }f  as  one  group,  and  }>  and  ]> 
as  another. 

I  would  also  pradice  such  compounds  as  [Ti  Ofi  lU  (vowels  in 
layer,  liar  and  hra:yer  written  ajf  or  Wjmi).  J»,  3^  (vowels  in 
sower  and  sour).  In  such  words  as  sore  and  more  there  is  no 
glide.  Many  persons  say  U}|  9}|.  My  father  would  write  lih 
BJx,  but  I  should  recommend  a  still  larger  aperture  in  teaching  the 
deaf.  I  would  write  y|.  and  SJ,  (saw-er  maw-er)  for  "sore  "  and 
"more."  and  UMl  andS}W  (so-erand  mo-er)  for  "sower"  (one  who 
sows)  and  "mower"  (one  who  mows). 

It  is  very  difficult  to  get  a  deaf  child  to  distinguish  I  from  I  {e 
in  pet.  from  a  in  pat).  It  is  important,  however,  that  the  attempt 
should  be  made,  as  the  slight  difference  of  sound  often  makes  a 
great  difference  in  the  sen.se.  For  example:  Met,  mat,  bet,  bat. 
etc.  The  distinction  is  best  obtained,  I  think,  by  pradice  before  a 
mirror. 


■H  -^ 


.-tf 


' 


1 1 1 

Vowels  arc  so  difficult  of  acquirement  by  the  deaf  with  accu- 
racy and  precision  that  we  may  consider  it  fortunate  that  usage 
tolerates  considerable  latitude  in  the  pronunciation  of  these  elements. 

The  precise  shade  of  vowel  quality  given  in  one  part  of  the 
country  is  not  heard  in  another.  Tr.ivclers  in  F:n,t;land  are  startled 
by  the'crv  a\3  Ul  OIG  Ul  ("  Keb,  sir,  keb.  si,.)  trom  the  c.bmen 
in  London.  The  Irisinn.m  says  '•oi'  for  1.  Many  Americans  say 
3IIi30»  for  3IvC0>   (lirst)  and  everywhere  we    hear  I^CCI>  for 

}^CC}Moh.  no). 

Certain  defects  are  recognized  as  individual,  or  family 
peculiarities  of  speech;  others  are  characteristic  of  whole  commu- 
nities and  constitute  a  provincial  utterance  or  dialed  •  and  still 
others  reveal  the  nationality  of  the  foreigner. 

I  think  I  am  pretty  safe  in  saying  that  the  ••  standard  pronun- 
ciation. '  like  the  "average  school  b^v."  nowhere  exists!  We  all 
depart  from  it  in  a  greater  or  le-  ..-  .•.•  Study  the  character  and 
extent  of  the  variations  that  exi;  .imong  c-Ilu  a-n  people  and  don  t 
be  too  critical  of  defefts  of  y.'  ir  ;  apis  if  th.  y  fall  within  those 

limits.  . 

The  pronunciation  of  the  consonant  eie..ients  of  speech  is  so 
uniform  in  all  English-speaking  countries  that  very  shght  variations 
are  received  as  foreign  sounds,  while  greater  departures  from  the 
standard  convey  the  idea  that  the  vocal  organs  are  themselves 
defeaive.  People  speak  of  "curing "  such  defeds,  as  though  they 
were  diseases,  or  the  result  of  malformations,  requiring  the  surgeon's 
care.  Vowel  peculiarities,  osi  the  othjr  hand,  fail  to  convey  this 
idea  and  are  more  suggestive  of  provincial  or  foreign  utterance. 

Small-aperture  vowels,  like  i  or  I,  are  given  everywhere  with 
substantial  uniformity,  and  any  marked  deviation  from  the  standard 
is  suggestive  of  foreign  birth.  Vowels  of  larger  aperture  are  con- 
stantly mispronounced  by  the  best  educated  people.  Even  culti- 
vated Bostonians.  for  example,  sometimes  call  their  own  city  3300.0 
(Bahston).  Unusual  variations  from  the  standard  if  of  slight  extent, 
are  suggestive  of  provincialism,  and  where  the  departure  is  greater 
the  speaker  is  supposed  to  be  a  foreigner. 

From  this  it  will  be  seen  that  exaditude  of  pronunciation  is 
more  necessary  with  certain  sounds  than  with  others.  Consonants 
and  small-aperture  vowels  in  accented  syllables  must  be  accurately 
given;  whereas  considerable  latitude  may  be  allowed  in  the  pro- 
nunciation of  medium  and  large-aperture  vowels,  and  of  diphthongal 
sounds  wherever  they  occur.  This  is  fortunate,  for  these  are  just  the 


U3 

linauisS  ,,''"'"  •■PO""""  unchanged,  until  dircdej  to  „. 

th   nl  ,h  r     f      "''"""'^''^  °'"  P"-^'"""  "'fo™  Kc  a  sum 
MJurn,.  a„ord,„8  ..  ,ne  dements  themsdves  arl  vocal  o,  non- 

yo.^j:^ir'^:  r  "'^"^  <^-^-^ee,and 

Dressed  for  t»    '"''""■''■''-      T">  longuc  is  raised  for  X  and  de- 
all  the  elements  '^  ^'^  combination  runs  through 

mere;^-::?::  ttr;LT.:",er  f  nrS°"^ "  r 

wof  rZj^j;-^,,;;; --n.tio„  „  ^^  dea,  c,i,d.  , 
m  that  the  tongue  rei^^nf  n  the  f  "'"'''  ""™'°"  '»  '>" 

M  that  i.  does  L  z::z  I  tJzzt.  '"  """■  -""  ■" 

own   lips   and  then  tn   nr^w  u        ^         "  ''^  '"^'nipuiate  his 

When  hi  can"  dots  1  twcj  \r",„r,t:  '7"'"'""°"- 
symbols  will  help  him  to  give  the  corre  i'^ff  «  ,  """*''  "'  "" 
ilea  01  retaining  [he  f  oosi.tn       ,"""*  '*«■     Let  him  have  the 

of.he tongue;';':  rrJ^erT^r:!?,*  ^"°-^*'P°™ 
moves  the  back  of  th»  »  ,::'  '^^*'""'"^ ^he  f  position  while  he 

teaching:  so  IcwItTthr  '^'"'  '''"'^""'^^  of  articulation 
combinLn  IXL      '^^^^^^  ^-"'^^  -with  their 


*  "^H 


ARTICULATION  TEACHING. 


I  should  Jike  in  conclusion  to  say  a  few  words  upon  the  general 
subjeft  of  articulation  teaching.  We  don't  know  yet  how  best  to 
teach  speech  to  the  deaf.  If  we  did  we  wouldn't  be  here.  We  have 
come  here  to  learn  from  one  another  in  the  hope  of  improving  our 
methods  of  teaching.  Now  I  am  inclined  to  think  that  the  more 
nearly  we  can  pattern  our  methods  of  teaching  after  the  method 
adopted  by  nature  in  teaching  speech  to  hearing  children,  the  better 
should  be  our  results.  It  is  certainly  the  case  that  the  methods 
usually  employed  in  schools  for  the  deaf  do  not  even  approximate  to 
the  nursery  method  of  the  hearing  child.  Not  one  of  the  little  hear- 
ing children  whom  you  may  have  left  at  home  commenced  by  learn- 
ing elementary  sounds.  Mothers  do  not  begin  with  elementary 
sounds  and  then  combine  them  into  syllables  and  words.  The 
mother  speaks  whole  sentences  even  to  the  infant  in  arms.  The 
child  listens  and  listens,  until  a  model  is  established  in  the  mind. 
Then  the  child  commences  to  imitate,  not  elementary  sounds,  but 
whole  words.  Indeed,  people  e^^ow  up  to  adult  life  without  ever 
having  uttered  elementary  s  -"nd  when  they  do  come  to  study 

them,  it  is  for  the  purpose  ot  ng  and  perfeding  their  speech. 

With  hearing  persons  the  elen^uts  come  last,  not  first.  They  con- 
stitute the  final,  not  the  initial,  exercises  of  articulation.  I  would 
commend  this  fad  to  the  serious  attention  of  the  members  of  this 
Association.  The  question  is  often  in  my  mind  whether  we  are  not 
making  a  radical  mistake,  and  whether  it  would  not  be  better  to 
commence  with  sentences  and  whole  words,  rather  than  with  ele- 
ments, and  accept  imperfeft  speech  from  little  deaf  children  as  we 
do  from  hearing  children. 


m. 


s  ■•( 


i 


"4 

Bui  Ihe  mor.  I  ,hi„t  Ir  ,  "^^  ""  "'  ■-"""'I'""'"  idling, 

'vc  element  is  always  present  he  hear,      w    .  u  ^^" 

1.  Speech-reading  fulfills  the  first  condition  only  in  r^.rf     ti 


IIS 

resort  to  a  diaionury  to  ascertain  how  a  word  should  he  pro- 
nounced. What  we  most  need  i.  reading  matter  for  our  pupils  in 
which  the  words  are  spelt  as  they  are  pronounced.  In  two  hours 
a  deaf  child  can  read  as  many  words  as  a  hearing  child  hears  in 
the  cou'.e  of  a  day.  and  if  .he  spelling  only  corresponded  to  the 
pronunciation,  reading  would  fix  the  model  in  his  mind,  and  speech- 
reading  would  constantly  recall  it.  Any  kind  of  phonetical  alpha- 
bet would  do  for  this  purpose  ;  but  Visible  Speech  would  be  especi- 
ally advantageous  because  it  would  be  possible  through  this  agency 
to  fulfill  the  second  condition  also. 

2.  The  deaf  child  must  see  the  relation  between  the  sound  he 
utters  and  the  corred  sounds  of  speech.  I  know  of  no  other 
means  of  accomplishing  this  end  than  Visible  Speech  or  the  Lyon 
Manual,— but  they  will  do  it. 

I  think  with  these  agencies  we  would  have  a  correJ^ive  element 
that  would  K-ad  to  improvement  of  speech  as  the  child  grows  up 
and  permit  cf  the  adoption  of  a  more  natural  method  of  teaching 
than  now  exists. 

I  throw  out  these  thoughts  as  suggestions  merely,  for  I  recog-- 
"Sze,  of  course,  the  great  difficulty  of  carrying  them  pradically  into 
execution.  I  would  have  you,  however,  appreciate  the  importance 
of  the  principle  involved,  and  consider  whether  in  the  face  of  the 
difTiculties  that  present  themselves,  it  would  be  better  to  abandon  the 
principle,  or  study  the  difficulties  and  attempt  to  remove  them.  I 
think  that  that  method  which  conforms  most  nearly  to  the  method 
whereby  hearing  children  acquire  speech,  will  be  most  wcthy  of 
adoption  by  teachers  of  the  deaf.  With  these  remarks  I  shall  close 
1  shall  now  be  glad  to  answer  any  questions. 

Mr.  Lyon  :  I  would  like  to  know  if  the  symbols  on  your  charts 
represent  the  elements  to  which  you  would  reduce  all  the  English 
words  ? 

Dr.  Bell:  Yes.  There  are  some  elements  not  usually  con- 
sidered as  English.  The  German  ck  (C)  for  instance,  and  its  cor- 
responding vocal  (€),  I  would  recommend  that  those  should  be 
taught  to  every  denf  child,  because  they  enter  into  the  composition 
of  »  {wh)  and  i  {oo)  and,  indeed,  form  the  kev  to  the  English 
vowels. 

Mr.  Lyon:     1  notice  that  the  glide  r  is  omitted. 

Dr.  Bell:  Yes.  And  I  consider  that  as  a  very  important 
matter.  1  have  found  it  a  very  difficult  thing  to  get  glide  r  from  a 
deaf  child  without  gross  exaggeration   of  the   movement  of  the 


Ii6 

r,  weobuinfrom  him  a  sound  ,ha,  app™,rates  1.^^,"    ' 
the  vernacular  elTefl.  PProximales  very  closely  to 

M.SS  y.u ,    I  believe  in  Dr.  Bells  Iheory  thoroughly. 


I    :  1 


Is 


VOWEL  THEORIES. 


3 

t 

3 


BY  ALEXANDER  GRAHAM   BELL. 

Read  l;efore  the  National  Ac.idemy  of  Arts  and  SLienccs,  April  15.  1879.  and  rephntPd 
from  the  Amt-ricin  Journal  of  Ulology,  Vol.  I.,  Jul),  1879. 

Hcmholtz  has  shown  that  ati  educated  ear  perceives  a  combina- 
tion of  musical  tones  where  an  uneducated  ear  fupposes  a  single 
sound ;  and  his  theory,  that  the  feeble,  usually  unheard,  musical 
'ones  are  the  cause  of  the  peculiar  sensation  we  term  the  "quality" 
of  a  sound,  seems  now  to  be  universally  accepted  as  correct. 

According  to  this  theory,  a  vowel  is  a  musical  comixjund,  con- 
sisting of  a  mixture  of  musical  tones  of  different  pitches  and  vari- 
ous intensities.  The  lowest,  or  fundamental  tone,  gives  the  pitch 
to  the  whole,  and  is  determined  by  the  rate  of  vibration  of  the 
vocal  cords. 

It  is  certainly  the  case  that  an  attentive  ear  can  perceive,  in 
every  vowel  uttered,  a  number  of  distinct  musical  sounds  ;  but  the 
hypothesis  that  the  ear  perceives  them  on/y.  and  that  it  is  unable 
to  appreciate  the  quality  of  the  vowel  directly,  should  be  received 
wth  caution.  According  to  Helmholtz,  the  human  ear  is  incapable 
of  perceiving  any  other  than  simple  pendular  vibration.s.  and  it  is 
therefore  under  the  necessity  of  splitting  up  a  vowel  into  its  con- 
stttuent  musical  elements  before  it  can   perceive  its  quality 

Thus  Helmholz  hold.s  that  vowels  are  i„/enrd  from  the  pres- 
ence of  certain  musical  tones,  and  th.-tt  they  do  not  give  rise  in  the 
ear  to  distinct  sensations  of   their  own. 

The  rods  of  Corti  arc  supposed  by  him  to  anahve  the  vibrations 
unpatted  to  the  hquid  of  the  internal  ear,  so  as  to  split  them  up 
into  the  pendular  motions  of  which  they  are  theoretica  ly  com^ 
I-sed  but  U  cannot  be  received  as  proven  that  the  sin.ttl  aneous 
vibratton  of  certain  of  the.se  rods  gives  rise  to  the  perception  of 
the  quahty  of  a  sound;  for  Pritch..rd  and  other  cotnparative  anat- 
onust^s  have  shown  that  the  rods  of  Corti  are  entirely  wantin"  In 
parrots  and  other  birds  that  i.nHote  and  therefore  perceive%ie 
sounds  of  .speech.  (ti>.cnt     mc 

forTtwll'r  "r""l'  ''""■^''■'■■'''  '''"""  "'•'''  '"  ^''^  ^""'•'»"  ^-^r  ^"  ■'apparatus 
ior    taking    direct    coRnizatice    of  the  qualitv  of  a  sound,    Helmholtz 

has  proved,  by  the  synthesis  of  vowel  sounds,  that  there  exists  the 

most   tnt.mate  relation   between  certain  combi.tations  of  musical  tones 

and  the  quality  of  a  .sound.     Not  only  are  such  tones  audible  whe.iever 

a   vowel    IS   produced,  but    the  converse  is  equally  true  ;  and  we  may 

therefore  assume,  at  lea.t  as  a  working  hypothesis,   that    vowels  are 

"7 


.i&aii. 


ii8 

to  designate  t.ei.  s.,Lr;;;:;t  ul  ^l^.^t^S:"  "  '""- 
and'  the    i^  ^:,  fr-1-nc.cs  „r.  „.„,ti,.les  of  the  A.„.la„,e„ 

ofuu  .o,c,  ,L.r  /.;;  :s;x:/,;'?''''''''''^ "/  //-y-./,.../.,/ 

These  (juestions   at    first    s..rl„  .  "^  '"^^  """'  "'"-''  6.-f 

sideralion  of  the  «rga2     1.^;^  I'^"'^'^'"    ")    f-m    aeon 

the  pho.w-Kraph  The  res  u  i  '^  ^''^  P'-onautcprnph.  and  t y.  „f 
Ration,  however  po^Jt  to  LTT"  '"  f"  ''"^"  ""-'""^'^  "^  '"-•^t,. 
with  the  ideas  oV  He  "uLur""'^'°r''-^'"^''"'^^^  accor.lnnce 
luiKlKsh  Pronunciation?     plrtiv,  'p'Tr-         '   '•'"'   '"   '"'    ''■'">■ 

In  examining  these  oiie^fimio  ,V  C' 

distinet  «an.es,  uvo  varS  ^'hc  "?  ^^^°"^-'"'">t  to  designate,  l,v 
which  there  has  been  oThte  cnn^f    Jl'      '  '■"'""'  ""^°^>-'  <^"ncerninK 

7/^^  /J-ivv/  *,/  /    r       ,        considerable  discussion  : 

of  voi^^^r  „;^r':t;oied  r'T^  ^'"^■=" "--  ^'--^-^-^^ 

and  the  element  of  S„,aT         "?     ^i  ""'*''  '"^'^riable  pitches, 

7-^.  //«,.,,.«,.  KL"  -WoTr      T'  *•:'  •'■'^»'"S"i«''in^  Mature, 
partial  tones  charactt^^    ie ~?"°  ^"^  '"^  *^"  ">P«thesis,   the  upper 

sounds  of  certain  tuning-forks  whose  rl-s  of  v,hl  r  ^  '""^'""'">''  the 
of  that  of  the  lowe"   fort      Tl,   T         I  vibration  were  multiples 

5th  forks  were  avowed  toso^^,  Sv  an"  th^? "  V'V^  f"'  ^^"'  '"'^ 
was  brought  out  much  more  l,u  ,v  t„  .^  ""''•  "^  ''''^  ^"'  '""'■'' 
characteristic  tone    Id')   wl,  Tt,!  V' k,  «^-^Pcrunent,  then,  the 

Xow,  if  the  fixed  uitchivnM  ^'1':'°"*''*-'  °^tave    of  the  fundamental. 

be  di'sting^^-std'Ca  pa/  a?  ::r  ^r^!'^,  "^ir^' '  ■  ^'"^''  -"^--^-^ 

hypothesis  be  correct    the  nrtT  !     "  '  '•  ^''^'■^«-'''  "  the  harmonic 

wuh  the  Pitch  o^r  v^^,srr3rr^ifttr;-  ^"  '^^-^'^ 

.  larjnx.  pharjnx.  nares,  and  in  the  mouth.     The  air  in 


J;" 


"9 

each   cuvity  has   a   UiuUncy    towards  a  lUfinitt.  rate  ..i    \  ilir.4ti..ii    an  1 
when  ajjitatol  in  iin>-  wny  prothicL-s  its  ri.s(M)aiui  luiu 

In  the  act  i.f  speech  the  ai/  is  set  in  vihrati.in  in  all  th.  se  ea\  itus, 
the  reson -nee  tones  of  tlic  cavities  mingle  with  the  toms  dui.  to  tli.. 
vibration  of  the  vocal  cords,  ami  thns  produce  the  complex  sounds  ot 
human  speech.  The  movements  of  the  tonKUe.  lip^,  it,  .  ni..dilv  th. 
shape  and  si/e  of  some  of  these  resonance  cavities,  an<l  tlin^  uialile  ii, 
to  produce  sounds  the  musical  constituents  of  which  are  almost 
infinitely  variahle  at  will.  The  con.slant  cavities  of  the  voeal  or;;ans, 
the  .shapes  of  which  are  determined  hy  nature,  ,inil  are  thert  fee 'inde- 
pendent of  will,  piolwlily  !,'ive  to  tile  speaker's  v.  a  e  that  lildividnality 
of  toi.e  that  enal)les  us  to  pick  out  the  voice  of  one  s|.caker  from  a 
multitude  of  others,  while  the  varial)K-  c.ivities  ^^ive  proiuinem.'  to 
partials  that  characterize  the  elements  of  spoken  lauKuajre. 

The  cavities  of  the  mouth  are  chiefly  concerned  in  the  production 
of  vowel  quality.  When  a  vow.  1  positi.m  is  assumed  liv  the  vocal 
or>;ans,  the  mouthi.,issaj,'e  is  sli^rhtly  con.stricted  at  s.miu-  particular 
part  (see  Fig.  i),  and  thus  t  .'o   rcw^iance  cavities,  „  and  6,  .ire  estab- 


, 


no.  I. 

lished,  the  interior  of  the  mouth  .somewhat  resembling  in  shape  the 
interior  of  a  chamber  formed  by  pl.icing  two  bottles  neck  to  neck,  the 
two  resonance  chamlx;rs  being  represented  by  the  bodies  of  the  bottles, 
and  the  constricted  pass.ige  between  them  by  the  necks. 

I    have   found   that    the  resonance  tones    of  these  cavities  can   be 
readily  studied  in  the  following  manner: 


To  Study  the  Pitch  of  the  Posurior  Cavity : 

Close  the  glottis,  assume  the  vowel  position,  nnd  tap  gentlv  against 
the  throat  with  the  thumb-nail.  (A  sound  will  be  perceived  .some- 
what similar  to  that  produced  by  tapping  against  the  side  of  an  empty 
Iwttle).  A  double  pitch  will  be  noticed,  but  the  tone  due  to  the 
posterior  cavity,  a,  will  be  much  more  fully  produced  than  that  due 
to  the  other.  I  have  succeeded  in  making  the  sound  audible  to  large 
audiences  by  placing  the  forefing'>r  of  the  left  hand  again.st  the  throat, 
and  tapping  it  very  forcibly  with  the  thumb-nail  of  the  right  hand. 


!lili5^v».^.4:tv'  •> 


^**"^ 


110 

^Jr.?  ,?""''.""  ■'*'  **  produced  by  Mrikinir   a 
cork  held  againnt  the  throat.  uniting   a 


piece  of  wood  oi 


To  Study  th,  IHtch  of  the  Antmor  Gmty  ■ 

cheek.  I  h.uc  found  iha  tan  ordilTr.  .  /  '  'T'^'  '''  »«"'"»'  ^h^ 
one  Micle  of  th.  mouth  radilyTtJls'thotr''''  ''"  '""'^'  "«•""'» 
cavity  when  struck  with  Ue  thu    £,  TT"m  '"""^  °^ '''*  ""'"»'' 

ceived,  but   that  due  to  ih"    •  nt.    «r  .  '*''"'  '''"^  ''''"   "^^   P*^" 

than  the  other.  "'"""  '■"*''*>■  '«  "'»^''  "'ore  pro,ninVnt 

The  tone  due  to  the  anterior  civifv  «,.,..  I       .    .     . 
ing  the  soft  palate  until  it Tuch"   the  U  k  o/ ."   ."'  '''°"^' »'>■ ''^P^""- 
position  for   •  nK  •■  in  the  word  ■■  W  •      r^  J    '^  '""^"'-     C^'""  i"  "'^ 
■soft  palate  cuts  off  all  eommunicat  ^f  uL  ..    "  ""'''  ^*'-^"»>«tanceB  the 

arranged  in  regular  nn  si.S' sc^n"      For  ns."''*'"'  ''"  '""'"'  '°  "^ 
the  high-front  vowol  («.^  .      s<-<l"'->"-i      for  instance,  commencing  with 

voweifof tj;  frnrgrL"i  AZur^-rri^- '"^ ^^"'°"^ '^  "'-»»'- 

soarrange<l  that  th!-  tones  of  onr.      '•"/'f/-°".'^"«s -■„,  beohtaincd. 

tl.e  other  rise.     n.  sa.„e  ^rZ  A  ,  ./>  .'^T^' r^"^''^  ^°""  "^ 
unrounded  vouels      The  t<ilrl,  nf  //,  ^  "'Jpffw/r  ;5'r<7;//^J  a/ 

vouel  aperture  Is  c2-^a^l"':^Z::Z-^"'  '"  ''''  "'  ''' 
different,  however  with   x^^uaJT  {  ""/"''""''■  ''"w/v  rises.     It  is 

/«  a  i/V,//^,-  ,Lnn-r.  ^  "n-Rroups  of  rounded  vouels  beha:e 

..on  and  ap..u„, .,,  r„,  i„.,.„„,  .be  hi^h-S,"  ™:;°S',:rM ha'^^l': 


121 


froiit-roundctl  vowel  lu  in  German) :  the  pitch  of  the  pob.,rior  cavity  is 
the  name  for  Ixjth  vowels  hut  the  pitch  of  the  anterior  i^  1  ,wer  for  the 
rounded  (U)  than  for  the  unrounded  vowel  (et). 

The  rhangcs  of  pitch  produced  in  the  anterior  and  p  ,terior  cavities 
of  the  mouth  Ixconie  intelllRiMe  hy  ref-rence  to  familiar  f.ic  of  resonance 
Thus  blow  across  tlu'  ni.uith  of  an  empty  »Kiltie.  and  its  resonance  tone 
can  Iw  iwrceived  in  the  rnstlinj;  sound  c.iu»e<l  by  the  breath.  I'.iur  water 
into  the  Ujttle.  and  the  pilch  «(  the  time  becomes  liiRher.  Place  your 
tinkers  over  the  month  «f  the  lK,tlk,  so  as  t-  reduce  the  size  of  the  oiMfn- 
ing,  and  the  pilch  f.ills. 

It  will  thus  )h.-  seen  that  the  pitch  of  a  cavity  falls  when  its  interior 
capacity  is  iiicreased,  and  also  when  the  exterior  orifice  is  con'.actcd. 

The  depression  of  the  tongue  (see  \'ig.  i)  should,  therefore,  cause  an 
elevation  of  the  pitch  of  cavity  a.  and  aluweriii^r  of  that  of  cavity  /> ,  for 
the  air  space  in  cavity  f>  Inxomes  larger  when  the  tongue  is  depressed  ,  and 
the  width  of  the  exterior  oiK.ning  (c)  of  cavjtx  a  is  at  the  same  time 
increased. 

A'zrn  position  assumed  by  Hit  vocal  oranus  deUnnims  the  slinfn-  and  size 
of  the  laiitii-s  of  the  mouth,  and  thus  determines  the  absolute  pitch  o/  the 
lesonancc  tones  proper  to  those  cavities. 

When  air  is  pa.ssed  through  th  •  mouth,  as  in  the  act  of  speech,  a  new 
element  enters  into  the  inquiry :  Is  vowel  (juality  due  to  the  mouth 
p<jsition  a.isumed  by  the  orj^ans,  or  is  it  caused  by  the  vibration  of  the  vocal 
cords?  If  the  former,  we  would  expect  that  the  characteristic  upper 
partials  would  bear  s<jme  relation  to  the  resonance  tones  profn-r  to  the 
mouth  cavities  and  Ik;  independent  of  the  pitch  of  the  voice.  If  the 
latter,  we  would  expect  them  to  bear  some  relation  to  the  i)itch  of  the 
\  t)ice  and  be  independent  of  ihe  pitch  of  the  nu)uth  cavities. 

The  mere  passage  of  air  through  the  mouth  is  sufFicient  to  bring  out 
the  characteristic  tones  of  the  mouth-cavities.  Vowel  quality  is  audible 
in  a  whis|>er,  and  can  even  be  produced  by  forcing  .".ir  into  the  mouth  by 
means  of  a  pair  of  bi-llows. 

It  should  be  noted,  in  this  connection,  that  vowels  are  generally  pre- 
c^A^A  in  actual  utterance  by  elemetit.s  tl;at  approximate  very  closely  to 
co:  Its  in  their  organic  formation  ;  "initial  vowels"  being  precedifl 

l)y  the  throat-shut  consonant— an  element  belonging  to  the  same  general 
class  as  p— t— K,  but  for  which  we  have  no  letter  in  the  English  language. 
Consonants  result  from  obstructive  positions  of  the  vix^al  organs. 
During  the  utterance  of  speech  the  air  in  the  thorax  is  continually'com- 
pressed  by  the  action  of  the  abdominal  muscles,  diaphragm,  and  muscles 
of  the  thorax,  so  that  when  the  emissio:i  of  breath  is  momer'.arily  checked 
by  the  formation  of  some  obstructive  position,  the  cavities  behind  the 
point  of  constriction  Ivecome  inflated. 

Thus,  when  a  vowel  is  prc-ceded  by  a  con.sonant— a  sudden  puff  of  air 
accompanies  the  relinquishiiKnt  of  the  consonantal  iwsition— and  this 
puff,  passing  through  the  vowel-configuration,  is  sufficient  to  bring  out 
the  characteristic  tones  of  one  or  more  of  the  vowel-cavities  quite 
independently  of  the  vibration  of  the  vocal  cords. 

An  interesting  ca.se  may  be  mentioned  which  bears  ujwn  this  jioint. 
Dr.  Moore,  of  Rochester.  K  V.   had  a  p.^tiet1t  wh.-^sc  glottis  had  become 


L^ 


speak,  ...l.houKl   no  ,  Jr        tf     r     m  I  T"    r     '", "'"  "''"''"'■     "^^  ^""'■' 

•"'-"11.  I.,  a  w..n.k.,A.I  .xtuu      The  ^.ir  whir  ,^  ,,".''  '"''*  "^  "'" 

vv,.sallcr„aU.ly.lraw„  i,.tu  I   is  c  u  I     ...^  "as  „„„„,,...,  j,,,,,  ^|,^^.^,,_ 

t.......c.     Th.  cavity  ..e„..,  J,  t    .  n.;  ^^^  ^  r^:'.  'T!  ""^  "^  ^"^ 

natdy  cx.,an.l,„K  an.l  contract,,,,,  .h.r  '  \  r.  1  u^  .  '''''^'~f ^• 
a,t.c,llalion-.s»  that  the  nun  .m,!,?..,  i  r  .  ''■  1"'"»''^'^'<  "f  I'i^ 
1MUM„K  for  breath  •  "  t"  ,  ,'  ''^  '^^"  ""I ''"«"'  "^  '*">^'  ""•'""' 
hra„.  .  of  the  conncctio  U  t'u  ,  '  T'""'-  '"  '^  ""  '"stinctivc  runen,- 
halat  of  expel  .,;Xu  rt IT,    .?"'"f  "".''  ''""''''  '•'  ''^  "-"  '"  "- 

an.,  of  -i.^«r :z';,:':;;r :;t;:;L",^-^^  --  ---- 

A>,olher  cur.ous  case  has  l.een  n.a.le  p„,,Iie  hv  Dr.  Moore  ■ 

A  patient  liad  attempted  suicide  l.vruttinL' his  fliro.f      ti.        •   , 
was  severed  trom  the  larvnx   -,,,,1   .J  „    ,  ^'"'  'P'R'"""* 

man   con  d   pro,,o„nce    intelligibly   certain   vowel   sounds.      Dm.. 
satisfied  himself  and  other  ohsor^■er8  that  there  was  no  passa.  e  o 
through   the  mouth.    I,>    artidcially  closing  the  ajHrturc    he  wee     tl 
epiglottis  and  hack  of  the  pharynx.  ""^    r.ei«tin   tli< 

Dr.  Moore  argued  from  tlli.s  experiment  that  the^o^veI.s  heard  uoe 
produced  in  the  Iar>-nx  instead  of  in  the  mouth,  This  position  h  .lev  , 
seem.s  to  be  untenable  ;  for  the  mouth  positions  for  these  ^■owe  s  n  igt 
have  been  assumed  during  the  production  of  the  sounds,  and  the  tones 
of  the  mouth  cavities  would  bo  brought  out  by  SMi.p.nthetic  reson.  ,ce 
without  the  necessity  of  pa.ssing  nir  directly  through  the  mouth 

In  whistling,  th  ■  resonance  tone  of  the  anterior  cavity  is  brouglr  .„t 
so  loudly  as  to  constitute  a  clearly  recognizable  musicaftone.     A  .     .f„ 

notTTT,  ,  i  "'•'''  '"■"  ''"'^""  '''''"'''  '  ''^•''"''^-  I-it-"  f-caci 
note  whistled,  and  a  person  cr.n  be  made  to  whi.stle  an  air  ut,intei,tio,iallv 
by  making  him  attempt  tr  whistle  certain  vowels  ,n  succession  I„ 
w_hi,stling,  ,t  seems  necessary  that  the  constricted  passage  in  the  mouth 
shouhl  he  inucli  more  narrowed  than  in  actual  articulation  and  that  the 
anterior  orifice  should  al.so  be  small. 

Sing  such  a  vowel  as  6  and  gradually  contract  the  passage  bet w.  en 
he  Uck  of  the  tongue  and  the  .soft  palate.    The  resonance  tone  of  6  will 

be  observed  to  grow  in  intensity  as  the  passage  is  contracted,  until  finally 
he  vowel    IS  converted  into  a  vocalized  whistle.    By  labializing  the 

varous  vowel  positions,  the  resonance  tone  of  the  anterior  cavity  can  be 

brought  into  great  prominence,  and  a  whistle  produced  of  definite  fixed 

pitch  for  each  vowel-position. 


>Sm  Tr»n5   N    V,  Si.te  MtHUa!  IvKittv  r.i 


1S71 


•r,  *,  •I 


w 


^  ^-••'.jflr''' 


I -'J 

It  in  fiiuiul  that  the  pitch  of  tiK'  voufcaii  Ik' varied  \vttho\il.i|)|irii  i.ihlv 
nfftftinjr  the  jiilth  of  Ihi'  v.iwil  whisUt.'.  It  im  iirl.iiiilv  ilithnilt  t.i  Imiii- 
out  the  whistle  of  iV)  ..i  r,  ttpdn  i-«it.mi  iiiichcs  ul  llii  \i,iii,  luit  th(.  hi^h 
front  ami  hinh-illi\<  <l  vhwiIh  lalMali/nl  tan  tie  ia,'»ily  ret.iiM.il  m  .i 
whistlin^j  loncJition  «hiU'  the  voicx  j{lidi.>  iipwarils  i.r  ilnwnw.in 

In  ttiiilyin);  tlie  ilmililf  reson.uin  of  the  miiulh-favily.  I  have  lnui 
led  to  tile  )H.lief  lliat  the  luiidanieiital  of  the  anterior  cavit\  is  niiuh  inoit 
essential  to  the  prixhii'tion  of  vowel  ijuality  than  that  of  the  poMteri'.i 

If  we  |)rolon;f  the  sound  of  the  vou'e,  and  study  the  ellttl  of  lln- 
movement  of  the  dilli-reMt  vocal  or><aiis  iii  iiUKlilyiMi;  the  iiil.i!lt\  ul  Iju 
resultant  sound,  the  attention  uilt  In-  arresliil  hy  tliv  l.n  t  ill  it  llio'  «.nii  nls 
of  the  otKans  further  forward  than  the  hack  of  the  tonv;ue  [, iodine 
chan>»es  of  vowel  (|ualitv,  Imt  th.it  motions  of  llie  parts  iKlutuI  tlie  \>,n  k 
of  the  ton;{uc  do  not.  The  motions  of  such  part"!  jiroduce  ipute  asiiiarUid, 
if  not  more  marked,  eluuijus  of  (|u.dily  than  in  tie  lormer  case  ;  hut  iKe 
fesntlant  soiiiuls  wonlil  not  nrdiuaiilv  he  ilesij;ii.Ue<l  as  vo\vi  I  variations. 
We  sliouhl  ratii'  1  sjh  ak  of  tluiii  ,i^  ehati'^jes  in  tip-  i/uali'y  of  the  \oit c. 
Kor  instaiue  llie  depression  .jf  the  Mift  palate  pvo<liues  a  nasal  elTivl,  and 
the  iliovctiunt  of  the  base  of  the  tonijue  towards  the  hack  of  the  i)liaryiix 
produces  a     jjuttural"  quality  of  voice, 

If  the  p  issajje  l)etv.een  the  base  of  the  ton;;ue  and  the  hack  of  the 
pharynx  lit  contracted  laterally,  hy  appro.\iinatioii  of  the  posterior  pillars 
of  the  soft  palate  (shown  hy  dotted  lines  in  Imr.  2),  a  very  curious  change 


F|..    ... 

of  quality  is  produced.  The  voice  acquires  a  metallic  rins?.  somewhat  like 
the  tone  of  a  brass  wind  in.stniment.  When  the  posterior  pill.irs  of  the 
soft  palate  approxim.ite  so  closely  as  almost  to  touch,  a  verv  disaRreeable 
reedy  quality  of  voice  results,  which  can  perhaps  Ik'  be.-t  diicribed  as  a 
.sort  of  ••  Punch-and-Judy  "  efTect. 

When  these  various  motions  are  pro<luced  while  a  vowel  position  is 
assumed,  the  pitch  of  the  posterior  vowel  cavity  is  affected,  and  the 
quality  of  voice  accompanying  the  vowel  is  chan<jed,  but  not  the  vowel 
itsel  f. 

Fnmi  this  it  seems  evident  th.at  the  anterio;  r-avity  is  more  imi)i.rt.int 
in  determining  the  vowel  quality  than  the  posterior  cavity. 

.\u  esaniination  of  the  mechanism  of  speech  le.ives  the  mind  decidedly 
biased  in  favor  of  the  fixed  pitch  theory  of  vowel  .sounds. 


II.    VoTS'ii  Theories,  eonsidered  in  the   f.ij^/it  of  Experiments  zvith  the 

PhoHautos^mpli. 

If  the  harmonic  hypothesis  be  correct,  ard  voweK  are  composed  of 
partial  tones  whcse  frequencies  are  multiples  of  that  of  the  fundamental 


114 

penodic  curves  when  tones  of  Voice  are  usJ  which  1       .       "ot  yield 

loudness.  shouU.  PrSluce^  eacf;  :  "sounTaSnT fo™'"  f ''  "? 
curve,  which  should  be  const  tnt  I  ,  ,,°""'' * '^^''^''f  f°"n  or  forms  of 
pitches  of  the  voice.  ^  "^""^  "■*'^'^^''  "«'l"^^  ^^ifferent 

f.r.^Sph:.2ti;:;;;t°"^S^;;;;';5S-r2^  -*th  a„  improved 

of  Technology,  in  Hoston      \wVc       ^  ^^  ^^°'^^''  °^^^^  ^^stUuif: 

and  their  tracngs,  reserved  for  sLr^^^^  '""^  ''^  ^""°"^  P'**^^*^''. 

briefly  as  follows  :  ^  ^'"'  '^"'"P''"^^"-    The  results  were 

of  ;oi^l:^.J^^''""'>-  P^*^"-"  P--^-  — s.  whatever  pitch 

r  SffeSn?  ?^  '''^''''°"  ^'*'  ""'  ^  '^°«''^^"t  Characteristic, 
simtlafiun^       "'^  ""^'  ^"^  '^''''^^"*  P'^^*"-  «>"-  -m  to  produce 
-t.  Different  vowels  sung  to  the  same  pitch  traced  curves  of  different 

an/ ti?"''  '^'"*"'  '"  ''^'  ^  ''"'•''"''"  '^^'"■^"'  ^^^  c«»'plexity  of  the  tracing 
and  the  vowel    aperture;   close  aperture  vowels  yielding  curves  thaf 

app,.x,rnated  very  cIo.sdy  to. simple  peadular  vibrations. 
■  V,''",''""'^' that  the  results  obtained  with  Mr.  Morey's  phonautoirraDh 

...gh  be  mfluenced  l,y  the  imperfection  of  the  apparatlrenmS-ed  I 
tncd  the  tympanic  n.embrane  of  a  human  ear  as  a  phonau  ogZh'  d/ 
Clarence  J  Blake,  of  noston,  suggested  this  idea,  and  kindly  prepared  a 
siH.c„uen  for  „.e,  with  which  I  carried  on  experiments.     rL^ympanic 

a  s  tljro7ln      »  °T'?1^'  "  ^^  ""'•^^^"^'^  ^^•'^"  ^^'>-"-  -d  watTand 
astj  us  of  hay  attached  to  the  incus  enabled  me  to  obtain  tracings  of 

vowel  vbrafons  on  sheets  of  smoked  glass  pa.ssed  rapidly  undernfath 

wtl.  Mr  4        .""■;'  """  ''"^  apparatus  were  similar  to  those  obtaTned 

th  Mr.  Morey  s  phonautograph,  and  I  found  it  impossil^le  to  recognize 

the  var.o„s  vowel  sounds  by  their  tracings.    I  do  not  know  the  fuU  r^^S  S 

trt  ■',  °'  ''''  Y-  '''t^  "'"' ''''  photographic  phonautograph  bu 
all  the  vowe  curves  drawn  byhin,,  that  I  have  seen,  were  periodic  cu;ves 
and  seemed  to  support  the  conclusions  noted  above.  The  general  i"dica' 
Uou.  of  all  orn.s  of  phonautograph  ,scem  to  favor  the  harmonicl  ,  prthesL 
much  more  than  the  other.  The  unstable  character  of  the  vibrat  on  fo^s 
nnght  be  explained  by  supposing  the  phases  of  the  harmolic  partiS^o 
ha^•e  varied  at  different  times  ;  fcr  Hehuholtz  has  shown  that  the  phies 
of    he  upper  partial  tones  are  immatenal  to  the  perception  of'wS 


m 


u 


W^} 


125 


III.   y<nve/  Theoria  considered  in  the  Ui^ht  of  Recent  Experiments 
with  the  Phonof^raph. 

Mr.  Edison's  phonograph  furnishes  us  with  .in  instrument  which 
fortunately  can  be  utilized  in  the  solu  ion  of  acoustical  problems  that  had 
before  seemed  insoluble  by  experii  .cntal  methods.  I  Ijelicve  that  this 
instrument  can  be  employed  as  a  means  of  ascertaining  the  truth  or 
falsity  of  the  h.-irmonic  hyj^thesis. 

If  the  differences  of  vibration-forms  obtained  by  the  iihonautoKraph 
for  the  same  vowel,  .it  different  pitches,  merely  indicated  a  difleniice  of 
phase  of  the  upper  partials— the  s.imc  harmonics  bein^;  i)redoniii)ant  at 
each  pitch  of  the  voice— then,  if  the  relative  phases  of  tlic  harmonic 
partials  could  be  retained  when  the  pitch  of  the  voice  was  chatij,a'(l,  the 
.same  vowel  at  dilTerent  pitches  should  be  characterized  by  the  .same  curve  ; 
and  a  vibration  of  uniform  shape  impres.sed  upon  the  tinfoil  of  the 
phonoRraph  should  produce  the  same  quality  of  vowel,  whatever  the 
speed  of  rotation  of  the  cylinder  might  be. 

If,  on  the  other  hand,  my  observations  with  the  phonautograph  were 
correct,  that  different  vowels  could  Ix;  found,  which,  when  sung  to  different 
pitches,  produced  the  same  tracing,  then  a  vowel  sung  to  the  phonograph, 
while  the  cylinder  is  turned  at  a  certain  rate  of  speed,  .should  be  repro- 
duced by  the  instrument  as  a  different  vowel  wluii  the  speed  was 
changetl. 

When  Mr.  Prcece  exhi1)ited  the  phonograph  before  the  Thysical 
Society  of  London,  on  the  ad  of  March,  187H,  I  suggested  th.-it  this 
experiment  should  be  tried,  and  st.ited  my  belief  that  the  quality  as  well 
as  the  pitch  of  a  vowel  would  be  aifected  by  the  speed  at  which  the 
cylinder  was  turned.  The  experiment  was  at  once  made,  and  the  results 
were  apparently  as  I  had  anticipated.     (See  Nature,  Vol.  XVII.,  p.  415.) 

Prof  Fleeming  Jenkin  and  I'rof.  J.  A.  Ivwing  about  the  .same  time 
perfonned  a  similar  experiment  in  Edinburgh,  but  arrived  at  quite 
different  results.  They  .stated,  in  a  letter,  dated  March  nth,  187S,  that 
"  the  pitch  is,  of  course,  .altered,  but  the  vowel  sounds  retain  their  quality 
when  the  barrel  of  the  phonograph  is  turned  at  very  different  rates. 
We  have  m.ide  this  experiment  at  speeds  varying  from  about  three  to  one, 
and  we  can  detect  no  alteration  in  the  quality  of  the  .sounds.' '  (See  Nature 
Vol.  XVII.,  p.  384.) 

Such  a  result  determined  me  to  repeat  the  experiment  carefully  and  at 
leisure.  Mr.  Stroh,  the  eminent  mechanician  of  11,-impstead  Road,  Lon- 
don, kindly  pennitted  me  to  use  his  automatic  phonograph,  the  cylinder 
of  which  was  moved  by  clock-work.  Mr.  .Alexander  J.  Ellis  was  present, 
and  assisted  during  the  experiments. 

We  found  it  extremely  difTicult  to  use  the  phonograph  in  the  ob.ser^■^^- 
tion  of  minute  phonctical  di.stinctions.  While  wo  differed  in  our  appre- 
ciation of  some  of  the  effects  produced,  we  agreed  in  thinking  that  vowel 
quality  was  affected  to  some  extent  by  the  speed  of  rotation:  but  we  were 
unable  to  determine  cither  the  amount  or  the  n.ature  of  the  change. 
Among  other  results  of  these  experiments,  the  vowels  in  the  words 
mean,  miine,  men  were  oflen  reproduced  to  my  ear  as  approximately 
the  vowels  in  moon,  moan,  mOrn;  the  reproduced  ee  .sounding  to  me  as 


126 


l»f^ 


chaiiKed  it,  the  reproduction  '         ^  '*-  '^  ''""'•''^  "''« 

....e„,c„S- n.n*;'; ™  , 2;7  k"  ™f , T r " '  "'■■' "  ■ ' ""■■ 

nxily  of  vo«-d  ,n,ali,v  „,„I„^,,,"i„     T  I     ;    ■■""'"  ™»~™i"(t  Ihe 

-^..■. ... .  u.„cv.  .uui  Br„.^-.  sr:rrt^vorx'v'-„r 

relative  values  of  the  vo  velsT:  I  """^f  ^^'•■'"'?'^^  '«  P'odueed  in  the 
public  nor  pHvat?ex\;brotl^       rLrfof'^elifu"'-^^  T'^'  J" 

T^  and  r..,  su^^t  tha;  the  vovSr;:;^^;^^;?:-'--;;;^ 

speaLtHh\sufficientd.sttt°sst:^;^nJt'  ^'"^  °"^  '"^^^""^"^ 
as  to  the  constancy  of  quality  S  any  sSv  f  ^P/"'?^  ""  °P'"'"" 
is  ™n  at  .-arious  sU ''      le^^r.Li'tf.  XvT  r'/"  S^  '"^'-"'^"^ 

„..nt'''''■!,,''^'■'''"''"^  '''"^''  ''"""S  "''^  P'-'^t  few  months,  made  exneri 
iiients  with  phonofrraphs  of  different  kinds  to  detennine  thrnno.t    '^    V 
vo.ve  change  or  fixity,  and  all  the  instn,n:ents  ha^'^s  tX     ' rue^s 
t.on  of  vowel  fix.ty,  under  changing  speeds  of  rotation,  ,n  the  n^^^tive 

Some  expenments  made  by  Mr.   Francis  Blake  an.    n.     d     ofthe 
fifteen  h  day  of  March,  ,879,  not  only  demonstrated  that  v^u  •  '  nTalUv 
^ocs  change  under  varying  speeds  of  rotation   of  the  cvlinder^^f  the 
phonograph,  but  also  m,-;nifested  the  direction  an.l  nature  o    the  clmn" 
folllw;^      ^'^"""'^'°'^""'"^^'"^'  "-'  -P-'"-'^  previously,  wist 

A  vowel  was  sung  to  the  phonograph  while  the  cylinder  was  turned 


i   fi 


127 

The  experiment  was  now  varied  as  follows : 

A  vowel  was  sunjj  into  the  phonojrrnh  in  a  high-pitched  voice,  while 
the  cylinder  was  turned  at  a  uniform  hut  high  rate  of  speed.  When  the 
sound  was  reproduced,  the  cylinder  was  started  at  a  hi;^h  rate  of  speed 
and  allowed  to  come  sradually  to  rest.  At  once  the  nature  of  tlie  vowel 
chanije  became  manifest  The  vowel  nli  changed  hs'  insensible  degrees 
to  aur,  oh.  and  finally  w.  (The  same  effect  can  be  produced  by  gradually 
contracting  and  "rounding"  the  orifice  between  the  lips,  while  at  the 
same  time  the  back  of  the  tongue  is  slightly  raised.) 

The  vowel  ee  was  gradually  converted  into  the  German  vowel  ii.  I 
am  perfectly  sure  of  the  labial  element  of  this  change,  but  am  uncertain 
whether  there  was  not  also  a  change  in  the  lingual  element.  The  repro- 
duction was  very  faint,  but  to  my  ear  the  vowel  finally  produced  was 
either  the  "  high-front-round  "  or  the  "  high-mixed-round  "  vowel. 

The  dipthongal  vowel  i  long  was  reproduced  approximately  as  "ow" 
ill  "now."  The  exact  reproduction  seemed  to  be  as  follows:  The  initial 
sound  was  the  "  low-back-wide-round  "  vowel,  gliding  finally  to  "high- 
mixed-round.  ' 

A  long  series  of  experiments  with  various  vowels  satisfied  us  that  the 
reduction  of  the  speed  of  rotation  below  the  original  rate  at  which  the 
c\  Under  was  turned,  occasions  an  effect  analogous  to  that  produced  by 
labializing  the  original  .sound. 

It  was  al.so  evident  that  there  was  a  lingual  element  of  change,  espe- 
cially when  vowels  of  the  "  front  "  and  "  mixed  "  series  were  tried;  but  it 
was  extremely  difficult  to  locate  the  resultant  sounds.  The  fixed  pitch 
hypothesis  offers  a  clear  understanding  of  the  nature  of  the  change. 

With  decreasing  speed  of  rotation,  the  prime  tone  and  the  characteristic 
upper  partials  fall  simultaneously  in  pitch.  Upon  our  theory  the  char- 
acteristic partials  correspond  to  the  fundamentals  of  the  cavities  formed 
in  the  mouth  by  a.ssuming  some  position  of  the  vocal  organs.  Hence  we 
might  expect  that  as  the  .speed  of  rotation  decreased,  the  .sound  produced 
would  correspond  to  a  vowel  having  anterior  and  posterior  cavitie'  of 
lower  pitch  than  the  original  one. 

The  pitch  of  the  anterior  cavitv  ,  an  I)e  lowered  by  gradually  approxi- 
mating and  rounding  the  lips,  and  the  pitch  of  the  posterior  cavity  can  be 
similarly  changed  by  contracting  the  passage  between  the  two  cavities. 
Tlie  change  of  vowel  quality  produced  by  decreasing  the  speed  of  rotation 
of  the  cylinder  of  the  phonograph  thus  seems  to  correspond  to  the  change 
produced  by  gradually  elevating  the  tongue  in  the  mouth  and  at  the 
same  time  contracting  and  rounding  the  orifice  between  the  lips. 


Effect  of  Increasing  the  Speed  of  A'cttitioi. 

A  vowel  was  sung  into  the  phonograph,  in  a  low-pitched  voice,  while 
the  cylinder  was  turned  very  slowly.  When  the  sound  was  reproduced, 
the  cylinder  wi\s  started  .slowly,  and  the  rate  of  rotation  graaially 
increased. 

The  vowel  n/i  changed  graduall\-  to  a  in  ask,  and  then  to  a  (in  the 
word  man).  This  change  of  vowel  effect  was  accompanied  by  a  remark- 
able change  in  the  quality  of  the  reproduced  voice.    The  sound  was 


138 


r 


ft; 


accompanied  by  a  meUllic  twang.  This  disagreeable  quality  became 
more  and  more  marked  as  the  speed  of  rotation  was  ir-.  eased,  until  a  sort 
of  "  Punch  and  Judy"  squealc  was  produced. 

Upon  the  fixed  pitrh  hypothesis  this  change  also  becomes  intelligible. 

Organically  considered,  the  change  corresponds  to  a  gradual  contrac- 
tion of  the  posterior  cavity,  accomplished  by  approximation  of  the 
posterior  pillars  of  the  soft  palate  (as  in  Fig.  2),  accompanied  by  a  gliding 
forward  of  the  lingual  position.  This  is  exactly  what  one  would  expect 
upon  the  supposition  that  the  posterior  and  anterior  cavities  were  of 
higher  pitch  than  in  the  original  vowel. 

I  was  surprised  at  first  that  I  could  detect  no  tendency  in  a  (in  aim) 
or  e  (m  men)  to  glide  upwards  towards  ee  {in  see),  for  the  anterior  cavity 
in  U  IS  of  smaller  size  and  higher  pitch  than  in  the  other  vowels  men- 
tioned; but  I  now  see  that  the  elevation  of  the  tongue  would  tend 
to  lower  the  pitch  of  the  posterior  cavity,  which  should  theoretically  be 
raised  simultaneously  with  the  elevation  of  the  pitch  of  the  anterior 
cavity. 

Jiesu/ts  obtained  by  Fleeming  Jenkin  ami  J.  A.  Ewing, 

Jenkin  and  Ewing  have  made  a  minute  analysis  of  the  records 
impressed  upon  the  tinfoil  of  the  phonograph  by  vowel  sounds,  and  have 
published  the  results  of  their  researches  in  the  columns  of  Nature,  and 
in  the  Transactions  of  the  Edinburgh  Royal  Society  for  1878. 

Their  analysis  of  the  records  of  the  vowel  6  brought  out  the  fact  that, 
whatever  pitch  of  voice  was  employed,  the  predominant  partial  was  b'i 
as  fixed  by  Helmholtz,  or  within  a  few  notes  of  that  pitch. 

As  the  final  result  of  their  researches,  Jenkin  and  J.  A.  Ewing  say 
(see  Nature,  Vol.  XVIII..  p.  455):  "We  are  thus  brought  back  to  our 
original  statement,  that  in  distinguishing  vowels  the  ear  is  aided  by  two 
factors— one  depending  on  the  harmony  or  group  of  partials,  and  the 

other  on  the  absolute  pitch  of  the  constituents We  are  forced 

to  the  conclusion,  .already  adopted  by  Helmholtz  and  Donders,  that  the 
ear  recognizes  t)ie  ;  ind  of  cavity  by  which  the  reinforcement  is  pro. 
duced;  that,  althoup  h  the  sounds  which  is.sue  differ  so  much  that  we  fail, 
when  they  are  graphically  repre.sented  and  mathematically  analyzed, 
to  grasp  any  one  prominent  common  feaiuie,  nevetheless,  by  long 
practice,  the  ear  is  able  to  distinguish  between  the  different  sorts  of 
cavities  which  are  formed  in  pronouncing  given  vowels." 


^i 


General  Results, 

Of  the  two  hypotheses  with  which  we  started,  it  is  certain  that  one 
(the  harmonic)  is  wrong  and  the  other  only  partly  right.  The  balance  of 
evidence  inclines  largely  towards  the  fixed  pitch  hypothesis,  the  main 
argument  against  it  being  found  in  the  periodic  curves  of  the  phonauto- 
graph. 

The  solution  of  the  difficulty  seems  to  be  that  suggested  by  Ellis, 
namely,  that,  "what  we  call  our  vowels  are  not  individuals,  scarcely 
species,  but  rather  genera,  existing  roughly  in  the  speaker's  intention. 


129 

but  at  present  mainly  artificially  constituted  by  the  habits  of  writing 
and  reading.  "  (See  "Early  Knglish  Pronunciation."  Fart  IV..  p.  1279.) 
I  do  not  doubt  that  the  distinguishing  characteristic  of  the  vowel- 
individual,  if  we  could  examine  it  critically,  wonld  U-  found  to  consist 
in  the  presence  of  partial  tones  ol  fixed  pitch  romsi)onilinK  to  the 
resonance  cavities  of  some  definite  fixed  [osition  of  the  vocal  organs. 
A  resonance  cavity,  however,  is  found  to  I*  capable  of  reinforcing  not 
only  a  tone  corresponding  to  its  fundamental  or  proper  tone.  b>it  other 
tones  that  difllr  slightly  in  pitch  from  that. 

The  reinforcement  is  greater  or  less  as  the  exciting  lotie  is  more  or 
less  removed  in  pitch  from  the  proper  tone  of  the  cavity.  Thus,  T-hen  a 
vowel  is  sung  or  spoken,  those  harmonics  of  the  voice  which  .-i'.  nearest 
in  pitch  to  the  proper  tones  of  the  mouth  cavities  would  be  reinforced  at 
the  expense  of  the  proper  tones  themselves.  And  althongh  the  ear  may 
be  guided  in  its  recognition  of  \owel  ([uality  by  a  feeling  of  absolute 
pitch,  the  vowels  would  be  recognized  from  the  presence  of  partials  of 
slightly  different  pitch— the  ear  locating,  as  it  were,  the  distance  of  the 
fixed  pitch  by  the  loudness  of  the  reinforced  harmonic. 

In  ordinary  speech  the  voice  is  rarely  on  a  level,  but  is  constantly 
gliding  upwards  or  downwards.  When  a  vowel  is  spoken,  the  pitch 
of  the  voice  is  constantly  changing.  The  reinforced  partials  must  also 
change  in  pitch,  swelling  and  dying  away  in  intensity,  as  they  approach 
or  recede  from  the  proper  pitches  of  the  mouth  cavities.  Thus,  in  the 
rapid  succession  of  reinforced  partial  tones,  accompanying  an  inflection 
of  the  voice,  a  point  of  maximum  resonance  should  be  perceived  having 
the  absolute  pitch  characteristic  of  the  \owel  uttered.' 

Treating  vowels  as  we  find  them,  as  genera  of  sounds,  in.stead  of 
individuals,  the  mosv  plausible  theorj-  .seems  to  be  what  we  may  term 
"the  hannonic  fiw  J  pitch  theor>-  of  vowel  sounds."  according  to  which 
a  vowel  is  a  musical  compound,  of  partial  tones,  whose  frequencies  are 
multiples  of  the  fundamental  of  the  voice;  the  predominant  partials 
being  always  those  that  are  nearest  in  pitch  to  the  resonance  cavities 
formed  in  the  mouth  by  the  position  of  the  vocal  organs  assumed  during 
the  utterance  of  the  vowel. 


>  It  U  well  known  that  lh«  duration  of  a  v   wtl  is  an  ekmeni  ,n  (fcltrmining  its  quality.     It  i> 
eatremely  difficult  to  dttecl  the  qutlity  of  short  vowels,  and  they  are  often  spoken  of  as  "obscure." 


Wrl 


INDEX. 


AbbrtrUtioiis,  46-50 

Accent  mere  important  than  exact 
pronunciation,  15-16,  77-78,  IOD- 
IC I,  107 

Articulation,  method  o(  teaching, 

1I3-U5 
perfect,  unnecessary,  13-16,  loo-iOt. 
107,  III 

b,  defective,  how  to  correct,  84-99 
Back  centre-aperture,  how  to  teach. 

Jf>,  56-57 
voice,  how  to  teach,  56-57 
shut,  voice,  nose,   how  to  teach, 
57-58.  70-71 
BcU'a    (Prof.   Alexander  Melville) 
Visible     Speech     s)'mbol5     ex- 
plained, 37-50 
vowel  scheme,  loj 
Bottlei  used  to  illustrate  resonance 

of  air,  2S,  27,  121 
Breathing  exercises,  3-4 
mechanism  of,  1-4 

ch,  German,  development  of  26, 56-57 
importance   of   teach- 
ing, a6,  103,  115 
Cheat  expansion  exercises,  3-4 
Clicln,  how  to  correct,  85-99 
Combtnationa,  95-99,  lu 
Comfortable,  how  to  teach,  15-16 
Consonant  positions  compared  with 

vowel  positions,  13-16,  100 
Consonants,  84-99 
illustrated  by  charts,  I,  II,  III,  and 

VI,  5lt  53.  57.  62-63,  71 
pronunciation  of,  determines   in- 
telligibility, 13-16,  100,  in 
shut,  defects  of,  84-99 
how  to  teach,  69 
vocal,  how  to  improve,  80 
Constriction  defined,  36 

of  vocal  cords,  11 
Cords,  see  Vocal  cords. 

d,  defective,  how  to  correct.  84-99 


Defective  positions,  how  to  correct, 
see  individual  letters;  e.  g,  de- 
fective r,  see  r 

Development,  see  individual  let- 
ters; e.  R.,  for  development  of 
ng,  see  ng. 

Diaphragm,  action  01  in  breathing, 

1-3 

Diphthongs,  defective,  how  to  cor- 
rect, 109-110 

Diacouragcmcnt,  avoid,  IQ.  50,  75- 
76,  94-97 

Divided  aperture,  explain,  75 

ee,  detective,  how  to  correct,  103 

how  to  teach,  .^6-57,  71-72.  80 
Epiglottis,  functions  of,  32-34 
Exercises  tor  chest  expansion,  3-4 

Failures,  explain,  76,  94-97 

False  vocal  cord',  see  Vocal  cords. 

Front  centre-aperture,  how  to  teach, 

56-57.  71-72 
voice,  how  to  teach,  56-57, 

71-72 
g,  defective,  how  to  correct,  84-99 
Glides,  108-109 

h,  how  to  teach,  56-57.  71-72,  73-74 
Helmholz,      synthesis      of     vowel 

sounds,  31,  1 17-1 18 
Hewson,  Dr.  A.,  discussion  of  first 

lecture,  lO-ii 

Intelligibility  depends  on  pronunci- 
ation of  consonants,  13-16,  100, 
III 
more   important  than  perfection, 
13-16 

k,  defective,  how  to  correct,  84-99 
Kiss,  action  of  vocal  organs  in  pro- 
ducing, 85-88 

1,  how  to  teach,  59,  62,  70-71.  78-80 
Larynx,  arc  vowel  sounds  formed 
in?  7-8,  y  II,   121-122 
functions  of,  5- 11 
substitute  for,  8-9.  121-122 
I3« 


•X  i«Ki3c^~-.:  .-^Az^  ' 


'3» 


INDRX. 


Up    centre-aperture,    hack    centre- 
aperture,  how  to  te.ich.  59.  6a, 
70-71 
Lip    centrc-aperitire,  liow  to  teach, 
55.  57 
voice,  how  to  teach,  sfr-57 
positions,  why  begin  with?  75 
»hut,  voice,  nose,   how  to  teach. 
56-58.  69,  71 
Loudntta  of  voire.  Iiow  dettrinined. 
17-19 

m,  defective,  how  to  correct,  84-99 
how  to  teach.  44-45.  47,  49.  56-58, 
69,  71 
McKtndrick,   Dr.,  excision  of  pa- 
tient's larynx,  8-9 
Metallir   qnahty  of  voice,  how   to 

correct,  i9-aa 
Mirror,  importance  of  using,  loa 
Mixed  symbols,  47- (8,  59.  75 
Moore,  Dr.  E.  M..  larynx  experi- 
ment, 7-»,  I3i 
tracheotomy  operation,  9-ti,  ui- 

123 

Mouth,   relatioti   to   speech,    a4-ji. 

ii^iai 
Miucular  feehng.  75 

n,  defective,  how  to  correct.  84-99 
how  to  te.ich.  44-45.  47,  49,  57-58, 
70-71 

Naaal  quality  of  voice,  how  to  cor- 
rect, 21-23 

ng,  defective,  how  to  correct.  84-99 
how  to  teach,  11-12.  44-45,  47,  57- 
58,  70-71 

'No-no"  metho<l.  avoid.  19.  50,  7^- 
76.  94S>7 

00,  defective,  how  to  correct,  26-27 
position  for,  36-38,  49 

p,  defective,  how  to  correct,  84-99 
Palate,  soft,  functions  of.  32-34 

how    to    ra'se,    21-23. 
82-83 
Pharynx,    relation   to    speech,    17- 

24.  31 
Phonautograph,  experiments  with, 
123-124 


Phonograph,     experiments     with. 

r2S-i28 
Pitch   of    voice,    how    determined. 
17-19 
how  to  study,  ii>-i2j 

vary.  6.  25,  27-30 
Point  centre-apertnrc,  how  to  teach. 
55.  57.  71-72 
voice,  how  to  teach,  56-57. 
71-72 
divided   aperture,    voice,    how   to 

teach,  59,  62.  70-71 
shut,  symbol  for,  46,  69,  71 

voice,  nose,   how    to  teadi. 
57-58,  70-71 
Porter,    Prof.    Samuel,    letter    on 

functions  of  the  pharynx,  31 
Pronunciation,  perfect,  unnecessary. 
i,m6.  ioo-ioi,  107.  Ill 

Quality  of  voice,  how  determiner!. 
9,  t7-i9 

r,  defc'ive,  how  to  correct.  loS-iwj 
how       teach,  11-12,  55.  56.  57.  71 

72,  78-80 
glide,   may   be    ignored.    16.    108. 

11S-116 
Reed  as  substitute  for  vocal  cords. 

8-9.  17 
Resonance  illustrated.  25,  27-30 
Rhythm  more  important  than  exact 

pronunciation,   15-16 

Shoot,  learning  to.  like  learning  to 

speak,  76 
Shut   consonants,   see    Consonants, 

shut. 
Soft  palate,  see  Palate,  soft. 
Speech  after  excision  of  larynx.  8- 
9 
tracheotomy,  9-1 1, 121  ■ 
122 
mechanism  of,  methods  of  study- 
ing. 34-50 
reading.  1 13- 1 15 

relation  of  mouth  to.  24-31,  119- 
121 
pharynx  to.    17-24.  31 
breathing  to,  2-3,  35 


ntDBZ. 


'33 


Swing,   child's,   illustrates   sympa- 
thetic vibration,  3^-39 
IjnnpadiMic  vibration,  37-jg 

t,  defective,  how  to  correct,  84-99 

position  for,  46,  69,  71 
TMcMng  articulation,    method   of. 
"3-115 
Visible    Speech,    method 
-{.  Si-8.1 
Thorax,  funitions  of,  1  4 
Throat  symbols,  how  to  teach,  60^3 
tn,  how  to  teach,  81-83 
Tongua,  how  to  manipulate,  it-13, 

loa-ioj 
Trachaotomy,    speech   nfter,   9-1 1. 

I3I-I33 

Vitibla  Speech,  method  of  teaching, 
Si-83 
Mymhois    explained, 
37-50 
Vocal  consonants,  how  to  improve, 
80 
cords,  action  of,  5-6,  9 

constriction  of,  11.  16 
substitute  for,  8-9 
Voica,  harsh,  how  to  correct,  19-33 
mechanism  of,  6 
metallic,  how  to  correct,  19-33 


Voice,  nasal,  how  to  correct,  31 -33 
q'lality  of.  how  determined,  9,  17- 
19 
Vowal  positions,     compared     with 
consonant,  lj-if>.  100 
perfect,    unnecessary.    13- 
16,  loo-ioi,  107,  ill 
sounds  after  excision  oif   laryiia. 

are  they  formed  in  larynx ' 

7-8,  9-".  I3I-I33 

synthesis  of,  31 
theories,  34-31,  1 17-139 
Vowala.  defective,  100-113 
illustrated  by  charts  IV,  V,  and 

VII.  SI.  63-64.  68.  74 
primary,  65-69 
wide.  66-69 

w,  how  to  teach,  56-57,  70-71,  80 
wh,  how  to  teach,  59,  63,  70-71 
w  and  wh,  defective,  how  to  cor- 
rect. 36-37 
Whitpar,  vocal  chords  in.  16 
Whiatling,  mechanism  of,  133 
Word  method  of  teaching,  113-115 
jr.  how  to  teach,  80, 108 
Yale,   Miss  Caroline   A.,  supports 
Dr.  Bell's  theory.  116 


s.'m^ 


